


Until we meet again

by fishbone76



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Genre: Angst, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2019-10-31 14:46:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 74,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17851580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishbone76/pseuds/fishbone76
Summary: Kyra’s romance is my favorite and my Kassandra was pretty devastated after that dramatic ending. So here I am trying to fix Ubisoft’s mess and give Kassandra the one true love she is craving and deserving. But of course it’s not just a ‘hello here I am, pls marry me tale’. Kassandra and Kyra have to sort out a lot. There will be funny moments, dramatic, sad and hot moments.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My plan is to start with fixing the Kyra romance and tell Kassandra’s tale further after the games ending. It’s a huge project and I feel intimidated by it but I want to try nevertheless.  
> I’m a struggling writer, words don’t come easy to me so it would be of great help especially for my motivation if you would leave a comment. Let me know what made you laugh, sad or what was the cause of having to change your panties.  
> -  
> Last but not least I want to thank my betareader Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic. She’s a treasure to behold. Thank you so much for your input and all the late-night talks about Kassandra masturbating and playing with Nephele’s tits for a solid ten minutes. XD  
> And if you haven’t looked into her AC Odyssey stories I can only recommend you to do so.  
> Also shoutout to reckreator because without her and her amazing kyssandra story I wouldn’t had started writing this fic in the first place.

 

 

428 BC

Grim eyes scowl out onto the dark sea, a mild breeze blowing a few loose strands of hair over her face and tickling her nose.

The moon's reflection glistened on the waves like a thousand tiny diamonds.

Her gaze wandered up to the stars and her heart clenched painfully in her chest.

‘ _I want you, Kassandra. Here. Now. Under the stars.’_

She cursed the gods inwardly before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath through her nose. The regular splashing sound of the waves against the ship’s hull had something soothing about it. Occupying her mind with the task on hand, finding the whereabouts of her mother, might help keep Kyra out of her head. “Did she break your heart?“ Barnabas asked suddenly next to her, swaying slightly.

A disgruntled noise was her only answer. She didn’t even turn her head. She’d prefer to be alone right now.

“Ah, she did.” Barnabas acknowledged sadly. “What happened?” He inquired and took a sip from his wine.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” came the terse reply, while she crossed her arms over her chest defensively the Eagle Bearer kept her eyes straightforward. Kassandra had successfully suppressed her tears until now but if the old man kept talking about Kyra she wasn't sure if she could hold them back any longer. She gulped down an upcoming knot in her throat.

Unfortunately Barnabas continued undeterred “That's the risk with falling in love with young women. It's a 50/50 chance that it works. Some of them don't know yet what they want.” He kept on babbling. “Believe me I had my own experience with them more than once. As soon as you decide to give your heart to them they tell you they love someone else.”

Kassandra closed her eyes once more for a couple of seconds, taking another deep breath through her nose, and sighed. He was probably beyond tipsy and no matter how directly she might tell him to leave her alone now he wouldn’t get the point unless she used force, which she didn’t want to.

“That's not- .” Kassandra turned around, checking if any crewmen might be able to overhear.

Scanning the deck most of the non rowers had headed to the lower deck already, sleeping or still drinking the wine they’d taken with them after Kassandra had ordered the crew to leave the victory party on Mykonos ahead of schedule.

Only the essential crew was on deck making sure the Adrasteia reached her next destination safely.

“That's not what happened.” She murmured after turning back to the old man.

Patiently waiting for Kassandra to say more, Barnabas soon realised that she was fighting back tears.

He had been sailing for three years now with this powerful, strong-willed woman, this was the second time he’d seen her hurting, the first had been after the encounter with her father at Megaris.

Seeing her like this pulled at his heartstrings. He knew about her past, she had told him one night at a campfire. Staring into the flames her voice bar the usual strength, the wine had loosened her tongue and she had shared her past and inner demons with him.

Barnabas knew of her Spartan childhood, the fall, of Markos, using her as his personal Misthios, feeling indebted to him forever. Oh how he despised this guy for exploiting a young girl and her skills. Sure this exploiter took her in, provided her with food and a place to sleep but a child needs more than that. A child needs love and caring.

It was a wonder that Kassandra hadn’t become a soulless slaughterwoman. A part of him still believed that she was gifted with the blood of the gods. She was an impressive warrior but also a gentle woman who had a hard childhood. She only deserved the best.

And it saddened him to see her like this now after witnessing how happy and giddy Kassandra had been during the time she had spent in the presence of the young rebel woman.

Despite knowing Kassandra enjoyed sex whenever the chance was there he knew that she longed for something more. But obviously she hadn't been aware of it herself until she had met Kyra.

The small part of him that wasn’t drunk yet knew to not push her anymore, he didn’t want to be the one responsible for making her cry. So he tried to lighten her up instead. “Well, whatever happened I'm sure you two will laugh over it the next time you visit.”

“There won't be a next time.” Her tone implied a very serious issue must have happened but Barnabas waved it away; she was probably overdramatising because she felt heartbroken right now.

While taking another sip out of his cup he thought _As long as she didn’t kill the young Spartan Polemarch-_

“I killed Thaletas.”

Barnabas spat out his mouthful of wine just to take another swig after hearing that. _She better not have told Kyra._

“And I told her.”

He was heavily choking now and Kassandra slapped his back in hope of getting the wine out of his airways.

“That explains the venomous look she gave you.” he coughed and swiped his mouth dry before offering “If there’s anything I can do to make you feel better let me know.”

“I’d appreciate some time alone now.” She smiled at him sadly, “that would help a lot right now.”

“Okay.” Barnabas patted her comfortingly on her shoulder. “You'll easily find someone new who will love you. Just look at you, beautiful, strong, famous Eagle Bearer.”

“What if she was _the_ one?” Kassandra mumbled to herself.

“Time will tell, Kassandra.” he said and knowing that there wasn’t more he could do now, he turned away and left Kassandra to her thoughts.

Kassandra turned around to see the last lights of Mykonos fade away.

_"Leave. And never come back."_

She would never again set foot on this island.

Never.


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

425 BC (3 years later)

Kassandra could hardly wait to get off the Spartan Trireme. She jumped over the small gap between ship and dock before it had even docked properly. A sigh of relief escaped her as she straightened up and walked off. She couldn't stand spending one more second with these malakes Spartans.

King Archidamos of Sparta had tasked her with the mission of forcing back the invading Athenian troops on Mykonos. Of all the regions in the Greek world that needed to be freed from the Athenians the King had chosen Mykonos.

It was one of a couple tasks to do before she and her mother were allowed to reclaim their old house in Sparta and to hopefully gain back family honor.

“Don’t be late for the meeting with the Archon tomorrow, misthios.” The Polemarch shouted after her as she strode into town. She didn’t turn around, just waved her hand in acknowledgement.

It had been three very long days on the Spartan Trireme until they finally arrived at the island. Three days of dark looks, remarks and whispers from the crew who saw her as what she was to the Spartan kingdom. A traitor, an outcast. While they did not harm or threaten Kassandra openly, for she was the King's personal misthios, they did not hide their animosity in the slightest when the Polemarch wasn't around. Polemarch Linos had been the only one who had treated her with respect. But still she had slept with her spear in hand. It had been hard to find relaxing sleep with so much hate around her.

But she would show them her strength and prowess on the battlefield, that she was worthy of washing her family free of sins.

It was early evening yet and the port area was still bustling with fishermen and merchants, doves fluttering overhead. This was a different sight from when she had last set foot on the island. Which had also been the first time and that only for some days but she could definitely tell that the Delians went about their life and business happy and carefree. Not unlike it had been under the late Archon. Looked like the new Archon was doing a good job. She didn't know if Kyra had taken on the job like Kassandra had advised her when Kyra had been feeling lost and empty during her father's funeral.

Scanning the vicinity before she moved on, Kassandra put on her helmet, concerned that she would run into Kyra or someone else who might remember her. She adjusted the helmet several times, she still wasn’t used to wearing it. She would have prefered to wear her leathered Misthios armor but Archidamos insisted on the Spartan armor. While she found she did indeed look dashing in it, especially with the red cape,she still needed time to adjust to the weight of the golden steel plate pieces. Maybe she should find a nice place for some combat exercises later. It had been the only pastime she had while they had been sailing to Mykonos.

Strolling through the streets she neared the area where Kyra's childhood home was located. She asked herself if Dianthe’s bones would still be there or if Kyra might have given them a proper grave. But then she realized she had never told her that she had been investigating the house and maybe Kyra didn’t even remember the location at all. She had been very young when it had happened and probably buried the traumatic event deep in her mind. Like Kassandra had done herself with her own past demons until she had been ready to face them.

Should she go check if the remains were still there? She could bring them to Kyra. On second thoughts this wouldn’t be a good way to say hello again.

Or she could ask random people about the whereabouts of Kyra. What if Kyra wasn’t even on Mykonos anymore? Kassandra’s heart sank into a pit at that thought. She wanted to see her again but Kyra probably didn’t. Or she could send Ikaros scouting the area, he would find Kyra without a doubt. But Kyra could, no, _would_ recognize him for sure.

 _“Leave. And never come back.”_ Kyra’s voice echoed in her mind. Forlorness squeezed her heart together. Maybe she should just turn in to the next tavern and get something good to eat and a lot of wine. And maybe a nice woman for the night.

A rowdy voice suddenly reached her ears and caught her interest. Turning her head to where the voice came from she saw a noble man, based from the fine garment he wore, who was slapping a kneeling man. Obviously a poor man begging for food or a couple drachmae, it was a daily sight in most towns. From what she overheard on her way to them the noble just felt annoyed by the presence of a beggar while he and his fancy lady had been making out on a bench.

Kassandra often times felt sympathetic towards poor people, knowing exactly what they were going through. She usually gave them a few drachmae and went her way. Since she had became a famous misthios hunger and money hadn’t been a problem to her anymore.

Charging towards them as the nobleman gave the kneeling beggar a kick she shouted furiously “Hey!” and kicked the noble in his ass. Leaving a dusty footprint on his precious white garment. “Leave the man alone.”

After regaining his stance the noble hissed at her before he turned around and saw who he was talking to. “How dare you? Malakes whor-” but he stopped as he saw this tall woman in Spartan armor towering in front of him.

“Did you ever pick your teeth up with broken fingers?” she asked in a threatening voice. The noble whimpered something unintelligible and gulped when Kassandra took two steps forward. She was building herself up to her full height in front of him, raising her thick arms slightly just to look a little more menacing. “Now get out of my sight before I shove my fist down your throat.”

With a satisfied smirk she watched him and his lady swiftly retreat. Kassandra turned to the beggar, reached her hand out helping him up as he thanked her. She took a few drachmae out of her pouch and put them in his hand. He was gushing his deep gratitude at her which she acknowledged with a smile and watched as he picked up his little child and went straight to a near merchant booth to buy some food.

She thought back to the first day on Mykonos. Kyra had been thankful and in awe that the mighty Eagle Bearer truly showed up and was willing to help them, even after she had thrown a dagger at her that had luckily missed its target. It had been a turbulent start. Right after getting to know each other in the secret hideout they had rushed towards a Spartan camp and helped fight off Athenian soldiers. There Kassandra met the young Polemarch Thaletas, who also happened to be Kyra’s lover.

Later they had found a quiet spot on the upper levels of the Artemis Temple, where Kyra showed her Podarkes Villa and informed the misthios about the further plans of the rebellion.

It was there that they had their first personal conversation. The young rebel leader had so many questions, especially about the eagle and the supposed divine power of the misthios.

Kassandra felt flattered and not for the first time. She still hadn’t gotten used to people admiring her to the extent of a divine person.

“Yes, I have an eagle. His name is Ikaros.” She answered Kyra’s question while placing her right leg up on the low marble-balustrade, moving one hand to her hip and the other on her raised thigh.

“And he was given to you by Zeus himself?” The younger woman asked curiously. She had taken a seat on the ledge of the fountain, off to one side and slightly behind the misthios.

A light chuckle escaped Kassandra as she also answered this question “No. At least not by himself. Ikaros just showed up one day when I was a child and in need of help. Though I’d really like to know who started that rumor.” She bet it was Barnabas.

Raising her hand Kassandra shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up into the cloudless sky. “Would you like to meet him?”

Kyra raised to her feet and exclaimed in excitement “Yes!. I’d love to.”

“Allright. Umm..” the misthios was taking off her red shawl and beckoned the young rebel to come closer.

Kyra suddenly felt small being so close to the sturdy woman. “Which arm do you want him to land on?” Kassandra asked and Kyra raised her left one. A pleasant chill ran down her neck as Kassandra’s thick, strong arms took hold of her own arm and when their skin touched a chill ran down her spine leaving a pleasant soft ache between her legs.

Kassandra wrapped the red fabric closely around Kyra’s lower arm while she explained, “Eagles have a powerful grip. Their talons are huge and sharp. The strong muscles in the legs clamp the tendons in the lower legs and toes down, closing all the talons together in a vice-like grip. So never ever let him land on your bare unprotected skin unless you want to know how it feels to have meat clawed out of your body.”

“Oohkay.” Kyra said, suddenly a bit less excited about this idea.

“Don’t worry, he knows to not claw too strongly when landing on humans.” Kassandra smiled reassuringly and patted her encouragingly on the shoulder. “Ready? I’ll let him land on my arm first.”

The younger woman nodded but her expression didn’t show as much confidence as she had a minute before.

Kassandra whistled loudly and the answer followed instantly in a high pitched shriek. A shadow came down fast and the Eagle Bearer stretched her right arm out. Mighty outstretched wings increased the shadow significantly before it shrunk down again when Ikaros finally landed on Kassandra’s bracer and laid his wings back. Two short pipings in a row and moving his long neck dancingly left and right. Kassandra explained “That’s his way to say _chaire_.”

“Chaire my friend.” Kyra greeted him with such a broad smile that her teeth showed. She watched as Kassandra stroked his chin gently with two of her fingers.

“Kyra here would like to have you sit on her arm. Would you do that for her?”

He gave what Kyra thought was a confirming chirp by way of answer to the misthios. She readied herself and stretched her arm out. Kyra was surprised, even mildly shocked by the sheer size and weight of the eagle when he landed softly on her arm. It was very impressive. She could still feel the power of his grip through the fabric. The Eagle Bearer hadn’t exaggerated when describing its power. “Can I pet him?”

“Sure. Either with the flat of your hand over his head and back or like I did with two fingers under his chin. Just don’t stroke against the feather growth.”

Kyra decided for the flat hand and was once again surprised at how soft his feathering felt. “And he can speak?”

“What? No. Not like us. Unless he can but never cared to let me know.” She really needed to talk to Barnabas. He had to stop his hokum when bar hopping.

“Well, let me check. “ Kyra jested and moved her head closer to the eagle, “If there’s anything you want to get off your chest, Ikaros now is your chance,” her ear almost grazed his beak as she continued. “Aha. Ok. She what!” Kyra took a judging sideways glance at the misthios.

Witnessing how Kyra and Ikaros got along so well immediately, made Kassandra’s heart jump and her belly was suddenly filled with what felt like hundreds of butterflies. Not many had shown such a affectionate interest towards her feathered friend.

This woman was something special. Not that Kassandra hadn’t already been impressed when the rebel leader threw a knife at her, and when she saw her fighting with a vengeance she felt utterly attracted to her. She hadn’t met many woman who carried such a bright burning fire within them.

“I’ll tell her.”

“What did he say?” Kassandra asked, visibly amused.

“You haven't fed him today.”

“Oh! Right. I wanted to but then someone threw a knife at me.”

“I’m sorry.” The rebel suddenly looked ashamed.

Kassandra chuckled “It’s fine. I’m just glad you missed. Otherwise I would have had to change my name into ‘The noseless Eagle Bearer’.”

Kyra let out a hearty laugh as the blush in her face faded. “Uh, he’s getting heavy now.”

“Just push up your arm towards the sky, he will fly away.”

Kyra did as the misthios said and with a soft pipe Ikaros flew up into the sky and caught the treat Kassandra had thrown up into the air.

Kyra unwrapped her arm and thanked Kassandra as she returned the shawl. “How do you two communicate?”

“I don’t know, it just works. I mean I can distinguish his different calls, whether he warns me or wants to point me into a direction that I should follow. He’s my third eye in the sky. And he seems to understand every word I say. But that doesn’t mean he always does what I tell him.” The Eagle Bearer braced her hands on her waist, arms akimbo and puffed out a breath in feigned annoyance.

Kyra laughed, then looked up at the impressive figure, their eyes locked. The misthios was stunning in many ways and Kyra suddenly felt the need to touch her. She bit her lower lip and restrained herself from gliding her hand over the leathered chestpiece. She settled back to the fountain, bathing her right hand in the water.

“I’m glad you came to help us. I’ve faith in you and with Thaletas and his men we will win this. We will end Podarkes! That man’s been hunting me my whole life.” She cast a dark look towards the Archon’s Villa.

Kassandra followed her gaze. “Podarkes, and others like him, want me and my family dead.”

“He executed my family when I was very little.” Kyra began.

“How did you survive?” Kassandra asked, genuinely interested. She approached the other woman and sat down on the bench next to the fountain. It was the only place that gave shade at this time of the day.

“I don’t remember much. Everything happened so fast. I was sitting on the ground, playing, then heavy banging at our door and suddenly chaos. Screaming and blood everywhere. A woman grabbed me, shoved me out the house and ran away with me. She brought me to a camp of Artemis’ Daughters. I lived there, was trained by them until Podarkes wiped them out. After that I survived on the streets. Was raised by hunters, rogue warriors and mercenaries like you.”

“That’s why you are able to use fire arrows!” Kassandra stated astounded.

“Yes, I’d be a daughter of Artemis now if he hadn’t wiped them out. I wonder why Artemis let him get away with that. On her own Island.”

“He won’t anymore.” The misthios spoke softly and placed her hand over Kyra’s. “We will end him.”

\---

People started looking at her and she wondered why until she realised she was standing in the water basin that surrounded Apollon’s statue in the smallish public space. How could she have got lost in thoughts for so long? She ducked her head and was glad she wore a helmet that hid her embarrassment as she strode away faster than she had intended. A narrow stairway lead her further up the town and closer to nature.

On her way up she overheard a conversation between two men about needing to inform Archon Kyra about the Spartan trireme that had docked just a short time ago. So Kyra was the Archon. Kassandra’s chest swelled with pride but it also made her nervous thinking about the meeting with her tomorrow.

The noise level dropped noticeably when she stepped out onto the nearby flower field. She let her eyes wander over the town beneath her as the sun was about to set. Ikaros was flying his rounds not far away from her.

She decided to take a walk, it might help her clear her mind.

Kassandra was walking along a path next to a flowering meadow, casually running her hand through the partly waist-high grass and flowers. Her mind wandered back to her mother who had stayed behind in Sparta and tried to find more evidence about Archidamos’ involvement with the Cult. She didn’t worry much about her mother's safety, first she was a good fighter and secondly Brasidas was helping out too.

What did worry her was this tiny voice in the back of her head that kept wondering how fast Myrrine went back into Spartan mode. Kassandra was perplexed that she wanted their old house back, wanted to settle back down in Sparta again after all that had happened there to them. Maybe it was because her mother had spent a good amount more years in Sparta than Kassandra had.

Her mother had spent at least a third of her life there and being fully raised the Spartan way while Kassandra only lived there for seven years and the first four or so she didn’t have many memories of anyway. She had no interest in settling down there, she didn’t feel much like a Spartan. She wasn’t as much Spartan as her mother was and she likely would never be. But she’d try everything to get her family back and if that meant having a house in Sparta that makes Mater happy, so be it.

Ikaros was piping above her, indicating he wanted to settle down on her shoulder. Kassandra took off her helmet. Here in the wilderness the chance of walking into Kyra or Praxos or another one of Kyra’s old friends who knew her would be sparse. The sun was almost gone too and made space for the moon who already waited to give its light.

As Ikaros landed gracefully on her right shoulder he chirped and Kassandra turned her head to the left just noticing now where her feet had taken her.

She stood on a small cliff close to the part of the beach that was still sparsely occupied by old ruins. The place where she had made love with Kyra, the night before everything went down the shithole.

 

“So, the pirate has one blade at my throat and one on my stomach, and he says, _‘How do you want to die, Misthios, fast or slow?’_ ”

Kassandra was sitting next to Kyra with one leg outstretched and the other bent. Leaning on her right arm she kept her upper body up and slightly turned towards the young rebel leader.

“My gods, what did you do?” Kyra was listening with interest and awe as she leaned closer to Kassandra watching the muscles in her left arm flex and move whenever the misthios gesticulated.

“He was so focused on me, he never noticed my spear in his leg. He was dead before he knew what happened.” Kassandra chuckled proudly at the memory.

“His leg?” Kyra wondered.

“A little trick my mater taught me.” Kassandra said, Kyra noticed the shift in the misthios’ voice and tried to steer the conversation into a different direction. She had no interest in losing these jovial moments of quality time she was spending with the handsome woman “Why is it so easy to talk with you?”

Kassandra was silent for a moment as her eyes wandered over the woman sitting next to her. “Because we’ve lived similar lives, been through similar struggles… Even though we grew up so far apart.”

“How so?” Kyra asked, genuinely interested but was aware that the conversation didn’t shift into a more positive direction.

“Like you I’ve spent most of my childhood without a real family. My father, the man who I thought loved me and raised me abandoned me too. And just not so long ago I found out that he isn’t my real father at all. That’s at least what he hinted at and I hope my mother, if I find her, can shed light upon.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s ok. Really.” Kassandra said now with reinforced good temper.

They had emptied the wine amphora just a short while ago. It had been a good but strong wine that went to both their heads quite fast.

“I hope you don’t have to find out that your real father is your nemesis. Otherwise I really believe the gods are playing a cruel joke on us.” Kyra quipped, her attempt to also get back into a better mood.

“Yeah.” Kassandra mumbled softly.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment and they exchanged smiles. Kyra’s eyes wandered over Kassandra’s features, the prominent cheekbones and inviting lips. Her gaze lingered there for a short moment while they sat in comfortable silence. Only the ocean and seagulls filled the air with sound.

“You must have quite a few stories to tell about them.” Kyra suddenly spoke up again.

“About what?” Kassandra blinked in surprise.

“Your scars. Your life must be very exciting. Please tell me your favorite adventure.”

Kassandra blushed slightly but smiled at the exciting demand from the other woman. She thought about which tale to tell and when she had settled on one she asked “Do you want the heroic version or the naked truth?”

“Hmmm, I think I prefer the naked truth.” Kyra cooed as she tilted her head slightly and licked over her lips.

“Well, these for example,” she pointed with her left hand to her right biceps “I was on the tail of a thief who hid in the woods. When I finally found his camp I ran into the problem that he wasn’t alone but with eight other scoundrels and I only had my bow with four arrows left and the spear with me. But I didn’t want to miss the high bounty on his head. So I decided to lure a pack of wolves to the camp that I had just passed a short time before. I laid a scent trail of fresh rabbit blood and waited a while, hiding in a tree. The plan worked out as expected, five of nine men went down by the wolves. The remaining four managed to scare the remaining wolves away with torches. I was about to draw my bow to take out the last bandits, comfortably sitting in the tree, when I suddenly heard a hiss over my head. There were two lynxes who attacked me right away. I fell out of the tree and got beaten up by two malakes cats. One of them gave me this souvenir. I hardly managed to take them out just to get noticed by the remaining thieves so all I could do was flee the scene of shame.”

Kyra couldn’t hold her laughter, when the laughter ebbed down she asked. “Where was your feathered friend?”

“Yeah! Where were you?” Kassandra scolded Ikaros who had taken a rest on one of the remaining stone walls from the ruins. He in return just chirped a half hearted apology before he closed his eyes again.

“Okay those are really prominent ones but what about the less visible ones? Like the ones on your face?”

“I… I'd prefer to not talk about them.” Sadness clouded Kassandra’s voice when her mind provided the memory once more of how she fell down mount Taygetos. She could almost feel the pain again, the bone fragments from the corpses she landed on cut and stuck on her face, the searing pain in her ribs, the taste of blood on her lips.

Kyra’s insisting voice shook her out of the dark memory “You know my past, my secret. It would just be fair or have I not earned your trust yet?”

“It's not about trust Kyra, I trust you with all my heart. It’s just very painful for me to talk about it and i don’t feel like reliving it right now. I don’t want to hurt now I’d prefer to spend my time with you feeling happy.”

“Okay.” Kyra softly spoke “Maybe another time.” And put a comforting hand over Kassandra’s big one.

“Another time.” The Eagle Bearer answered with a light but honest smile.

Another moment of comfortable silence passed between them. Kassandra glanced over at the ocean, momentarily lost in her own thoughts but Kyra did not see any sad or dark shadows crossing over the beautiful face of the Spartan woman. Whatever those painful past memories were she seemed to have them pushed aside for now.

Kyra couldn’t deny her desire anymore as her eyes once again raked over the sturdy body of the misthios. And she wondered how much more desirable she was under that leathered armor. If the muscles of her thighs and arms were any indication she truly must have a body of a goddess.

It was now or never.

“I want you Kassandra. Here. Now. Under the stars.” Kyra confessed openly.

“And I’ve wanted you since you threw that dagger at me.”

Kyra laughed at that confession. “You Spartans are really something special.”

“I can show you how special I am.” Kassandra said temptingly and leaned closer towards Kyra. She took Kyra’s chin in her hand guiding her head up towards her own mouth.

Kyra’s lips were soft. So soft. And so warm. Carefully, Kassandra licked Kyra’s lips with the tip of her tongue waiting for the younger woman to open her mouth and allow her tongue entrance.

But Kyra broke the kiss. Leaned back and suddenly rose to her feet.

Flabbergasted Kassandra blinked one, two, three times. Till she realized that Kyra was unfastening the strings on her chiton. And taking it off.

The romantic part of Kassandra felt disappointed about the fast approach, “I had hoped we'd take a bit more time before-” Her words were interrupted as Kyra’s chiton hit her in the face.

“Catch me Misthios, show me your hunting skills once more and I'm all yours.”

Chiton still in her hands she watched Kyra running towards the water.

Eagle eyes momentarily glued on two jiggling buttocks before they vanished underwater and her gaze wandered upwards to a sexy back. Seductively Kyra turned around keeping her eyes firmly locked with the misthios’, who just sat there staring unabashed at Kyra’s ample breasts.

Kyra dived down just to emerge a second later, hands combing through her now wet hair in a very alluring pose, stretching her upper body forward, displaying her full breasts perfectly to Kassandra. Then she dipped down again hiding what the misthios was staring at with her mouth agape.

Her clit suddenly seemed on fire. “Fuck.” Kassandra bolted upwards and tearing forcefully on the fastenings of her armor, eager to get out of it.

Patiently waiting Kyra enjoyed the comedic sight of the woman as she struggled to get out of her armor faster than possible. She could faintly hear her cursing as she jumped from one foot to the other to get rid of her boots just to end up with her ass in the sand.

Kassandra heard the other woman laughing when she landed ass first in the sand. “Malaka.” She gave up on a fast approach of disrobing but didn’t let her prey out of sight. With the last part of her clothing gone she took a sprint for the water and vanished under the waves.

She emerged behind Kyra and grabbed her in an owning hug, pressing her small breasts into Kyra’s back before she loosened her hold. “Time to claim my prize.” The misthios growled.

Kyra giggled as lips sucked at her shoulder and neck. She turned around to face her predator and swung her arms around the taller woman’s broad shoulders, pulling her down into a long tender kiss. Kassandra softly murmured into Kyra's lips, "astéri mou."

Her tongue sought the contact of Kyra’s and a slow dance evolved. Their tongues played and chased each other, soft and tender until a moan escaped Kassandra as she felt the heat between her thighs increasing considerably. It spread to her belly and developed into a tingling sensation, almost preventing her from thinking straight.

She felt the urgent desire, the need to feel more, to touch and explore every inch of the smaller woman in her arms. Kassandra finally tore her lips from Kyra’s and said in a husky voice. "I would like to make love to you now."

With a swift motion she picked Kyra up by getting a steady grip of her behind. Squeezing her buttocks firmly as Kyra slung her legs around the misthios’ waist.

Kyra enjoyed the power display as she was carried out of the water and gently laid down on the blanket next to the fireplace. As Kassandra leaned her upper body over her, entangling their legs Kyra finally could glide her hands over the bulky biceps and broad shoulders. Her fingertips tracing the outlines of those gorgeous cheekbones

“Show me what you are made of mighty Eagle Bearer.” before she took a hold of the braid and pulled the woman down into a fierce kiss.

\--------

Kassandra suddenly felt empty and utterly lonely. She hated this island. She hated all these lovely memories that forced their way into her mind. She hated being here and she hated the first stirrings of crying like a miserable fool in love. She loved Kyra and Kyra hated her.

“Malaka.” A slight snivel escaped her. She punched her fist into the rock between her crossed legs. These past years she had wished so often to just forget about Kyra but every now and then something or someone reminded her of this incredible, fierce woman.

Grabbing her helmet, she raised herself to her feet and decided to head back to town. Now was definitely the time to get wasted and find a goodnight fuck. After all it has been three years and who knows maybe Kyra was since married and a mother of two. She possibly had moved on and didn’t waste her time thinking about the misthios that killed the man she had been sleeping with.

How should she behave around Kyra when she approached her tomorrow? Quiet and uninterested or rather interested? Maybe aloof and sovereign so Kyra wouldn’t even dare to slap her across the face the moment she saw her. Thinking back at the hurtful words Kyra had spat at her when she’d told her that she had killed Thaletas.

 _“Your job here is done Misthios. Leave. And never come back.”_ Kyra had been enraged and close to tears. But what if Kyra had since realized that it hadn’t been Kassandra’s fault? At least not completely.

She sighed in defeat. She was tired of thinking. Time will tell, tomorrow. She was mindlessly walking up a beaten path till she stood on the backside of Podarkes villa.

She remembered the two tall bronze statues in the backyard, they were gone now. Probably melted down for badly needed weapon and armor.

The moon, almost full, shone bright against the ochre and white colored walls of the three-floor building.

The sound of chirping cicadas and subdued music from somewhere further away reached her ears as Kassandra stepped closer to the Villa, instinctively ducking down behind a lush bush when a guard made his round. She stayed hidden until he vanished inside the small guard house.

She waited a little longer until he sat down and started eating some olives and cheese. As she moved forward again she heard a female voice humming and singing. Straining her ears she looked up to where the singing emanated from.

It might have been years but she would never forget that voice.

“Kyra.” she whispered.

Oh how she’d missed her. But her hopes of a friendly reunion were nonexistent, almost, because hope dies last.

A sudden urge to lay her eyes on Kyra moved Kassandra's legs up and over the short balustrade. Suddenly voices, two guards moved around the corner and she pushed herself flat against the exterior wall, sinking down, getting as small as possible in hopes they wouldn’t turn their heads.

Kassandra cursed inwardly at her foolish action of listening to her urge, she would see Kyra tomorrow anyway. She considered leaving the estate and turning in to the tavern near the port, but that thought was quickly pushed aside as she overheard the guards talking about only being three of them tonight as they too entered the guard house and joined their comrade.

This time Kassandra made sure to stay in the shadows as she moved along the outer walls and onto the first level. She easily lifted herself up, jumped and grabbed the balcony railing of the second floor and swung her legs over.

She landed almost silently on her feet and hands before darting inside in the safe darkness of the shadows. There she waited and listened before she carefully peeked around the room divider.

The room was almost dark except for the moonlight. A scent of an aromatic mix of herbs filled her nostrils and a light of dancing flames moved in the adjunct room.

Crouching forward in darkness Kyra's humming became louder the closer Kassandra came to the softly lit room with the dancing flames. A strange feeling formed in her stomach, like a nervous knot that grew more and more agitated.

Just one quick glance. Just one look to make sure Kyra was doing well and she would leave she told herself and banished the thought of what could happen if Kyra caught her stealing into her house.

The aromatic scent almost became too much as Kassandra reached the passage. Humid air hit her in the face as she sneaked into the room, a quick glance in all directions before she crept again in hiding in a considerable dark patch. From there she saw the filled and steamy bathtub.

_Oh?_

There was only one small window which explained the humid air and strong scent of herbs. Two room dividers were placed on two opposite walls. A stool and a small low-table with an oil-lamp on it stood next to the steamy bathtub.

Kyra entered the room from another passage.

There. Finally. There she was.

As beautiful and lovely as Kassandra had remembered her. Silky black hair, a little longer now. Protruding, chestnut brown eyes and alluring lips that had tasted so sweet.

She wore an orange chiton that was draped around one shoulder.

Still humming she reached up to the small parts of braided hair on both sides of her head dis-entangling it, then she reached for the fastener of her chiton-

_Ooh!_

The dress gliding off her shoulders falling on the floor leaving Kyra only in a perizoma.

Removing her necklace and bracelet she carefully placed them on the table before she reached for the knot of the perizoma unwrapping it from her thighs and placing the cloth next to her jewelry.

Eagle eyes were roaming over naked shoulders, down to ample breasts; the Eagle Bearer licked her lips automatically when her gaze fixed on the areolae and nipples. Her breathing became more intense and her eyes moved on over a soft belly and further down to a neatly trimmed patch of dark curled hair.

Kassandra’s throat had gone dry watching her ex-lover undress with her mouth agape. She gulped, tried to wet the inside of her mouth but there was no saliva left.

She knew it wasn't right to watch, she wanted to leave but she was frozen on her dark spot. And she got hot, very so. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her palms were sweaty but she did not dare to move and wipe them dry for fearing she’d make too much noise.

If Kyra spots her now her dagger might not miss its target this time.

Fortunately one of the room dividers blocked Kyra's view as she slipped into the hot tub. If Kassandra didn’t move Kyra shouldn’t notice her.

The dog that just entered and sniffed the air might though.

_Malaka._

“What are you smelling, Orion?” Kyra patted his head as he walked up to the tub. “Do we have another rat in the house?”

_Only this Malaka misthios who thought it a clever idea to go sneaking into your house to gaze upon your beauty._

“Go get it.” Kyra playfully ordered the dog, who in response let out a happy bark and walked straight up to the shadows where Kassandra was hiding in.

She held her breath and stared at Orion who seemed to stare right back at her. He huffed a half bark then did three circles before he laid down in front of the shadowed area where he went into resting mode.

Kassandra sighed in relief and thanked the gods.

There was dead silence except for the chirping insects and the music from further away.

Kassandra dared to breath again and Kyra resumed her singing while she washed her body. Oblivious of the orange-brown eyes raking over her delicate neck, bare arms and lavish bosom as she was washing herself up.

Her eagle-eyes lingered at those sweet nipples and she remembered the luscious taste when she sucked them, swirled them around with her tongue as if it had just been moments ago and not three years. Kyra had made those sweet noises and called her name in the most silky voice.

The misthios kicked herself mentally, she really needed to leave now but with Orion in front of her it might be tricky. But then she remembered the teganite she had put in one of her pouches before she’d left the ship. Slowly and as silent as possible she took it out but it slipped her hand as Orion suddenly jumped up and barked.

“Relax Orion, it’s just Savina.” Kyra shushed him down.

_Savina? Is this her lover? No, it can’t be. Please._

Kassandra watched as a blonde woman entered the room through the same passage Kyra had. She carried an amphora and a papyrus and she both set down on the table. “Here’s your wine and the latest trade and transport report. Nikos just delivered them, he also mentioned someone witnessed a Spartan trireme docking at the port at sunset.”

“Really? Huh, that’s unusual since they exchanged most of their soldiers at the fort just some time ago. We’ll see into it tomorrow. Thank you for bringing me the wine and report. Have a good night.”

“You too, Kyra.”

Yipping excitedly Orion hurried after Savina who turned her attention to him “Do you want to escort me home Orion?” The dog answered with a high-pitched bark.

“That sounds like a yes, if your mistress doesn’t mind?” the blonde woman inquired.

“Sure he can. He always finds his way home.” Kyra agreed in good spirits. She watched them leave the room and then relaxed into the tub. Closing her eyes, head leaning back, a content sigh escaped her lips.

Kassandra had grabbed the chance to move from her dark spot back to the passage where she had entered before while the other two woman had been chatting. She allowed herself one last glance at her ex-lover before she left.

She definitely needed some wine now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for an angry and sexually frustrated Kassandra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty long chapter. I usually try to get at least 5k words into a chapter but this one got a life of it's own. I pondered about splitting it in two but why not give the readers the joy of a long read. I once again want to thank my friend Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic for betareading, lots of input and her endless support.

Having left the estate, the cool night air didn’t help Kassandra to quench the desire she felt at the moment. Actually she felt quite horny right now. It had been way too long since she had a good fuck. Kassandra sighed heavily as she thought back to Zopheras. The cute Spartan woman whose mother had hired Kassandra to educate her daughter to behave as a Spartan woman should.

Oh and how she had educated Zita’s daughter, showing her how to fuck a woman in every position she had in her repertoire.

But thinking about Zophera didn’t help. She had seen a couple hetaera near the port when they had docked at Mykonos. But she didn’t want them either. She longed for Kyra. And she wanted her badly. Kassandra was surprised at the sudden amount of burgeoning desire.

She made her way downtown and entered the first tavern which also provided beds for the night.

The stink of sweat and the smell of cooked food greeted Kassandra as she entered the tavern. Two young women and a Spartan soldier pushed themselves past her and out the door. He greeted her briefly but in a friendly fashion which made her raise a brow, but then she realized he must be from the fort and not one of those malakes she had sailed with onto this island.

Standing in the doorway for a brief moment she watched after them as he grabbed the waist of one of the hetaera and planted a kiss on her cheek as they vanished around the corner.

A quick scan of the internal space showed this wasn’t a usual tavern. It definitely had a higher quality than what Kassandra usually turned in to. Not that she minded at all. She was hungry and thirsty. Heading straight to the counter she ordered a big amphora of the best wine and a hot meal before inquiring about a bed for the night.

She decided to wait for her order at the counter instead of taking a seat at one of the empty table.

Kassandra took the time to scan the interior properly. To her surprise the not so noble nobleman was here too, this time with a different lady. He didn’t seem to recognize her but that didn’t surprise her because she had worn the helmet during the encounter. All in all the tavern was bustling with natural buoyancy.

Squinting her eyes and shifting her upper body sideways as an annoyingly loud bark next to her erupted, Kassandra turned her face towards the source.

A chubby bloke slurred, “what is this? Since when do Spartans have women in their troops?” he swayed heavily and almost tripped over his own feet as he leered at the misthios’ bare arms and thighs. “Do you want to wield my spear, pretty girl?”

“Your spear would break in my hand. Polish it yourself.” Kassandra said, unamused, and tried to ignore him but he stepped closer, too close.

“I’ll show you how hard my spear is. Why don’t you accompany me home?” His voice now slightly aggressive in tone.

It happened so fast the poor guy hadn’t had a chance to even apologize or cancel his unwelcome advances. Before his hand reached her buttcheeks she caught it and twisted his whole arm around and upwards. He stood on his tiptoes, screaming in pain. She guided him towards the exit in his ridiculous looking pose. As she let go of his arm she shoved him out the door. Holding his arm with a painful expression, he stumbled down the few steps and didn’t turn around as he swayed away as fast as possible.

“Malaka.” Kassandra breathed out, annoyed. There was a short moment of silence where everyone had been looking at her before the mood reset to normal.

As she returned to the counter she briefly locked eyes with a woman who gave her an interested and seductive look. Judging by the low cut peplos a hetaera for sure. The waiter demanded her attention as he beckoned her over to a table where he’d set down her steamy plate of meat and vegetables, she thanked him as he handed out the amphora and told her to enjoy the meal.

She gulped the food down like a hungry wolf. Satisfied, she leaned back and checked how much wine was left. It was still half full but she could already feel the effect kick in.

The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, she felt like someone was watching her. Looking around she once again found the hetaera staring fascinated at her. And just then, as she looked closely at her for the first time, she saw the resemblance between her and Kyra. The hair, the tanning, her facial features. She could be her older sister. The woman opened her mouth and licked over her lower lip. Kassandra’s pulse went up and she considered paying for her service. But then an image of Kyra relaxing in the bathtub manifested itself in front of her eyes.

Satisfaction made space for frustration once again. On one side she was looking forward to the meeting tomorrow, on the other side she felt despondent. It was naive to think that Kyra would ever forgive her. Why did she cling so much to that tiny spark of hope? Why couldn’t she just let go? Why did she want Kyra so badly whilst she had no problem fucking her way through Greece with every other woman and never yearning for them again. What was it about Kyra that all the other women lacked?

The misthios bolted up, grabbed the amphora more forcefully than intended, a slug of wine went over the rim and landed between her toes. She decided to call it a day. Without giving a last look at the hetaera she went up to her room.

Sullenly Kassandra got rid of her armor. Carelessly letting every piece of it fall to the ground with a loud clunk which prompted her neighbour to punch against the wall. She answered by throwing her helmet against the same spot. The helmet’s impact left a dent in the wall. She didn’t care. A muffled _Malaka_ was the last she heard from her neighbour. In her underwear she went to the table to pour herself a cup of wine.

It was there when she saw the water bucket, still steaming a little bit and a clean cloth next to it. A pleasant surprise, she thought. That’s not something you usually found in most taverns. But then this tavern wasn’t usual either. The wine was exquisite, the food had been delicious and the bed looked very clean and comfy.

She washed her body thoroughly and her mood improved a little bit when she rummaged through her travel bag and found the small vial of olive oil her mother had packed her.

By the time she had oiled her body the wine was empty too. She felt very lightheaded and though she wasn’t tired she decided to lay down and get some rest.

But rest didn’t come. Her mind was providing her with so many memories of Kyra. Old ones and recent ones. And her neighbour was fucking a very vocal woman.

With a grump she turned from her side onto her back. She sighed and closed her eyes. And hoped that he would be done soon. On second thoughts, she really only heard the woman moaning, what if…

Kassandra concentrated on Kyra and it didn’t take her mind long to come up with the beautiful face of her ex-lover. Moving her left palm to her navel she slowly traveled upwards, caressing her stomach. Bending her right leg a little and leaning it outwards she placed her free hand on top of her pubic bone.

Her left hand cupped her own breast, pinching her nipple, rolling it between thumb and finger, imagining Kyra’s mouth sucking hard on it.

Her clit throbbed eagerly in need of contact, she moved the fingers of her right hand down and through short trimmed hair. Three fingers pushed between her labia, using the outer ones to spread herself and stroking her already wet clit with the middle one.

She moaned as she started circling softly over the tip of her clit. It was so moist and already swollen. So sensitive that if she put more pressure on it she would come before long, but she wanted to drag it out a little longer. Bathing in the feeling and the illusion that it was Kyra who was touching her body.

She thought back to the moment when Kyra had made her come for the first time, at the beach, Kyra had very skilled fingers and she had taken full control over how and when Kassandra had been allowed to come

“Kyra, please.” She had pleaded back then and she whispered it right now.

_“Come for me, Kassandra.”_

And then she finally found release; for now.

As her orgasm ebbed down she heard the vocal woman next door reaching her climax and then finally silence. Kassandra drifted into a relaxing sleep.

 

 

Kassandra had slept until late morning. Well rested and with a full belly she had decided to run some important errands.

“Misthios!”

Kassandra turned her attention away from the merchant to Polemarch Linos.

“I told yo-”

“I’m sorry. Kassandra.” Linos raised his hand in apology as he corrected himself. His sky blue eyes flying curiously over the dried-out dead mouse she held up by its tail.

Seeing his sceptical expression she clarified “Treats for my eagle.”

“Ah. For a minute I thought you got the name Eagle Bearer for devouring what eagles eat and not for actually having one.”

Kassandra chuckled, amused, as she turned back to the merchant. “I’ll take five. Would you be so kind as to joint them for me?”

“We are heading to the Archon in a short time. Are you ready?”

Nodding in acknowledgment she thanked the merchant as she put the chopped up mice into her treat pouch. She joined the Polemarch as he headed to a group of three Strategos. Upon reaching them the group went their way westbound.

“Where have you been sleeping?” He inquired in a friendly tone as they entered a broad alleyway where several merchants pushed their goods.

“At the tavern next to the blacksmith.” Kassandra pointed into the direction to their right.

“You look well rested, not like on the ship.”

“Yeah, it’s quite a difference not having to fear getting kicked or spit at while I’m asleep.”

“I’m sorry you have to go through my men’s animosity. I hope you understand that I can’t forbid them their contempt for you, only that they leave you untouched.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a big girl, I can defend myself. But they did indeed not touch or hurt me.” At least not physically, she thought.

“I’m glad to hear that.” There was genuine relief in his voice. “The Archon is residing in the Villa up on the hill to the left. Do you know them? After all you took part in the rebellion that overthrew the Athenian tyrant three years ago.”

“I don’t know who inherited the title of the Archon for the Silver Islands.” The misthios lied unabashed. “I left Mykonos before a new Archon had been chosen.”

“It’s a woman. I heard she has a sharp tongue, especially towards men. So I hope your presence will be of advantage.” He said in good spirits.

_Oh boy!_

 

 

A jovial Archon returned home from her daily prayer at Artemis Temple. Orion happily barked, running back and forth as he caught the branch Kyra threw for him now and then. As they reached the atrium Savina hurried over, slightly troubled, she informed Kyra, “the Spartan Trireme Nikos informed me about last night, the Polemarch and his men are waiting for you in your office.”

Kyra raised an eyebrow. Usually the Spartans sent word before they requested a meeting. “How long have they been waiting?” She inquired.

“Not long, but the Polemarch is growing impatient.” Savina hushed as she and the Archon neared the entrance of the office.

“Well, he should had requested an appointment in the first place. Maybe he learned a lesson that way.” Kyra said loud enough for everyone to hear as she entered her office and then stopped dead in her tracks.

Reclining in the Archon’s chair, boots propped up on Kyra’s desk, the Eagle Bearer blatantly shoved one grape after another into her mouth while she didn’t break eye contact with the visibly shocked Archon.

The audacity!

“What the fucking hell are _you_ doing here?” Every snake in the vicinity would be impressed at the venomous tone in Kyra’s voice.

This wasn't the friendly welcome Kassandra had hoped for. Maybe the boots on her desk had been a bit too much of the _aloof and sovereign_ approach.

Kyra bolted forward, swiping Kassandra’s feet off her desk with a forceful shove as she spat “Which part of _Never come back_ didn’t you understand?” before a Spartan blocked her path preventing her from advancing further and closer to the misthios.

“I am the Polemarch. You will be talking to me.”

Leaning around Linos she furiously asked Kassandra, “Are you commanding a Spartan troop now?”

The Polemarch got visibly annoyed at Kyra ignoring him, he pushed her back by taking two steps forward. Shoving her backwards with his body.

“I’m talking to you.” Linos tried to demand her attention with a louder voice now.

“But I’m not talking to you,” the woman snarked as she eyed him up derogatively.

Kassandra hardly managed to stifle the snicker in her throat. Well she was glad Kyra concentrated her anger at him for the moment.

“That's King Archidamos’ personal misthios to you, scold. She is under the command of this; _my_ , special troop.”

Kyra’s eyes shot daggers at him. “And what does King Archidamos send his _personal_ misthios for?”

“Are you aware that a troop of Athenian soldiers built a fort in the southeast coast of your island?”

“Of course I am. I know everything that goes on on the Silver Islands. They are hardly a threat though. You should worry about the naval fleet that stands by Mykonos.”

Up went his brows. “Is that _so_? Then I’m sure you can tell me about the whereabouts of the missing Polemarch Thaletas that the Kingdom of Sparta had sent to help the rebellion against the former Archon. He has been missing since Podarkes fell.”

For a short moment Kyra was visibly taken aback, which hadn’t gone unnoticed by Linos.

Kassandra froze in the middle of shoving yet another grape into her mouth and dumped the rest of the grapes back into the bowl. For a brief moment she and Kyra locked eyes.

The Spartan Polemarch missed it for he began pacing in front of Kyra. “Maybe you got rid of him after he freed Mykonos from the Athenians? You wouldn’t be the first one trying to claim land like this.”

If Kyra told Linos the truth Kassandra might have to fight her way out of here and all the work she'd done to get the house back for her mother had been for nothing.

She prepared herself mentally for fighting her way out as she put her helmet back on.

Kyra put her arms behind her, straightening her back. “Polemarch Thaletas left the island three years ago and you just come to investigate now? The last I had heard was that he got a promotion and was on his way back to Sparta. Maybe you should ask Poseidon about his whereabouts. It can be a dangerous way from Mykonos to Sparta on the sea.”

“I don’t care much about one missing Spartan but he is the son of my brother.”

Kyra’s rigid stance softened and she moved her hands back to her sides.

“In that case I apologize and hope you will find him. All I can tell you is that he left Mykonos shortly after he received news about his promotion. The ship that brought him here had sunk before they reached Mykonos. Maybe the gods played a cruel joke on him and sank the ship he used to get back. It was a unique merchant ship with black sails and golden frame. The middle bore the golden picture of what looked like the head of a lion.”

This was certainly unexpected. _Thank you Kyra. Thank you for giving them a red herring._

Linos ordered one of his Strategos back to their ship to gather up a troop to investigate about the ship Kyra had mentioned. Then he turned to Kassandra, eyeing her with a broody expression for the first time since they had met, before he turned his attention back to Kyra, accusing her. "How could the Athenians build a fort unnoticed? Your men should have noticed."

“A lot of men died under Podarkes. It will take years for the population to grow again. And I only have about seventy men in my army to protect and guard two islands. Why don’t you ask your Spartan soldiers in Fort Miltiades what they are up to all day long? In case you don’t know where to look for them, you usually find them hanging around between the legs of prostitutes.”

Polemarch Linos took a deep breath and flashed Kyra an unnerved look. Whoever had said the Archon has a sharp tongue had definitely downplayed it.

“Did the Kings send you to help us getting rid of the naval fleet? Their ships’ archers prevent us from attacking their fort whenever we approach.”

“That’s a pretty clever tactic.” Kassandra admitted, impressed as she raised herself from the chair and rounded the desk to join Linos.

“Allright. Kassandra, I’ll let you get briefed by the Archon about her intel, since you know each other already. You seem to get along... quite well. My men and I will be heading to Fort Miltiades. Meet me there when you’re done. I want to know what the Athenians are up to, the exact numbers and whereabouts of their troops and their naval fleet. I want you to find out where their leaders are hiding.” That said, Linos waved his hand to beckon his man to follow him.

As the Spartans retreated, Orion came running up to Kassandra with a happy bark. Waggling his tail in joy he nudged her knee with his cool moist nose, leaving a wet spot on her skin.

“Hey, who is a good boy?” Kassandra knelt down and scratched him with both hands behind his ears. Then he started sniffling at Ikaro’s pouch.

“Aah, I see. You want some treats.”

With a questioning expression she looked up at Kyra, waiting for confirmation to be allowed to give him something. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Kassandra that Kyra’s features had softened a bit. “Fine.” She waved her hand in approval, her voice though still carried a hint of annoyance.

“There you go, Orion.” Kassandra said as she patted him softly on his big head.

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion Kyra asked “How do you know his name?”

 _Shiiit!_ “Uh I.. don’t yo-”

“Have you been spying on me?”

“What? No!”

“How long have you been here, on Mykonos? Where is your ship?”

“Hold on a second, will you. Don’t you remember? At the beach you told me that if you ever owned a dog you’d call him Orion because you love to look at Orion on clear nights."

Kyra looked a little less skeptical. She did like looking at the constellation, she remembered telling it Kassandra, but the dog part?

Kassandra assumed from her darting eyes that Kyra was pondering. She watched Kyra’s posture relax. The lie seemed to work. Kassandra let out a silent breath in relief.

“You don’t remember. You probably had too much wine, anyway thank you for not telling Linos the truth.” Kassandra dared to offer a smirk as she approached her ex lover.

Did Kyra just smile? Or had had she just imagined it.

Kyra put her arms akimbo and looked around to make sure they were alone before she demanded from Kassandra. “Take that bloody helmet off.”

Kassandra did as she was told quite eagerly. She didn’t know why, her subconsciousness likely hoped for a kiss.

Kyra squinted her eyes and stared icily at the misthios just before her palm connected in a heavy smack with Kassandra’s left cheek.

“We wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't killed him.”

Kassandra was dumbfounded. That smack had hurt more than she was willing to admit. Physically _and_ emotionally. As she slowly gained back her bearings anger built up.

“ _Me?_ You were the one who started flirting with _me_. I just flirted back.“

Kyra crossed her arms and shouted back “It wasn't my blade that cut through Thaletas’ throat. You could’ve just knocked him out instead of killing him.”

Rapid frustration spread into Kassandra’s whole being. “He was angry at _me_ because you decided to not tell him about us, despite me advising you to do so.”

Suddenly she couldn’t stop herself from raging on. “ _You_ invited me on a hunting trip and _you_ were the one who wanted to get fucked under the stars.”

Kyra was about to protest but Kassandra wasn't done yet, shouting. “Why didn’t you just tell him about us?!”

“I loved him!” Kyra shouted back. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.

The last words smacked Kassandra in the face harder than Kyra’s slap had. It took the wind out of her sails.

Brushing the tears away with the back of her hand, Kyra wasn’t done lashing out, “All you’re capable of is taking lives. You didn’t just take his life you also destroyed _mine_.”

“I … I thought you loved me?” Kassandra ventured, wounded.

“Get. out. of. my. house.” Kyra growled, shoving Kassandra out of the room and into the atrium.

“Kyra, I-”

“Leave. And stay away.” Kyra spat.

The guards, already alarmed by Kyra’s shouting, took position around the Eagle Bearer.

“What about the intel?”

“I don’t _fucking_ care how you get your intel. Praxos! The misthios wants to leave.”

Of course Praxos; Kyra’s giant, was here too. Kassandra knew better than to make a scene.

“I need that intel.” Kassandra demanded.

“Then use your third eye, mighty Eagle Bearer,” was the last thing Kyra said in disdain as she turned her back on Kassandra and vanished inside.

Kassandra freely got off the premises before Praxos felt compelled to guide her.

“Look, I don’t care what _exactly_ happened between you and Kyra and I don’t want to know either. But if she doesn’t want you near her then you keep your distance. Is that clear?”

Kassandra nodded and held both hands up in surrender. “Crystal clear.” She didn’t want to mess it up with Praxos too.

“If I didn’t feel so obligated for your help back then I’d crush your little head right here. Kyra is like a little sister to me and she’s not the same anymore since you took Thaletas away from her.”

“I’m sorry. It was never my intention-”

“Tell that to Kyra.”

“Ain’t you funny? Am I supposed to shout it from a distance?” She replied bitterly.

“That’s not my problem. You want to help? Clear the Athenian fort like you did last time.” Praxos replied unfazed.

 

 

It was about noon and oppressively hot as she looked down at the Athenian fort. It was located on a peninsula and on closer inspection it was impossible to get in unnoticed or even into the vicinity of it, at least during the day. She washed the sweat from her forehead and then took a sip from her waterskin.

She scouted the fort through Ikaros’ eyes.

It was heavily guarded. But in the end she found a weak spot. One problem solved, one left. How to get in there unnoticed?

The sun was burning mercilessly on her head. Thirsty, she took another sip of water but there was only so much left. "Malaka," she scolded at the empty waterskin but then she had an idea.

Kassandra went to the beach and took off her armor. Barefoot, armed with nothing but her chiton and spear, she went into the water. Remembering an old trick, using the waterskin as an air bag, she dived and made it unnoticed to the high fenced area.

The short dive was a refreshing welcome.

Hiding in the tall grass she slipped through the weak spot which Ikaros had previously discovered. It was a crack, wide enough to squeeze through the thick logs. She scurried quickly behind a tent and remained hidden in the tall grass. Listening in as two soldiers were talking in the tent.

"I still can’t believe the Spartans are falling for our trick for so long."

"I know, right? I would like to see their stupid faces if they knew that only one of our triremes is fully manned." Laughter rang through the tent.

_My, my! Linos will be glad to hear that._

This was one of the easiest jobs she ever had, Kassandra thought, as she listened through the whole conversation while hiding cozily in the shadows behind the tent.

As it turned out, four of the five Trireme were running on a skeleton crew. Only the one with the archers was fully manned.

The Polemarchs in charge would arrive in two days with huge reinforcements and then they planned to overrun Mykonos.

With the new intel she headed to Fort Miltiades to give Polemarch Linos a full report.

 

It was late afternoon when she arrived, she was hot and thirsty as she entered the Spartan fort.

The first thing the Eagle Bearer did before she answered any of Linos’ prodding questions was to plunge her head into a barrel of water, cooling herself off. Sighing in satisfaction she refilled her waterskin and took a gulp. “I have good news, Linos.”

“Splendid! Come in, have a seat.” He invited her into the comfortable cool guardhouse and served her water and fresh fruits which Kassandra gratefully accepted while she filled him in on the new information.

After scheming and theorising over various options on how to approach the Athenian fort they settled onto casual talk, chatting over wine, about favorite weapons and Leonidas until the sun began to set.

“We should meet up with the Archon to let her in on our plans and maybe she can help too somehow with her sparse men.”

Kassandra said nothing as she looked out onto the the sun which was soon going to vanish behind the ocean.

“Despite her effrontery she seems to be a capable leader.” Linos noticed the shift in the misthios’ demeanor. “What have you done to gain so much _affection_ from the Archon?”

Kassandra wasn’t in the mood for this kind of talk, but she also didn’t want him investigating on his own and risk that he would find out the truth. She decided for the ruthless misthios in hope he would lose interest fast.

“I broke her heart.” She said cockily.

“What a waste. She’s quite a sight to behold.”

Kassandra waved a dismissive hand “Apparently she resented that I had only interest in her body.”

Linos gave her a questioning look.

“I went to the next whorehouse after I tasted her fruit.”

“Why not eat the whole fruit?”

Kassandra smirked, “I usually lose interest after taking a bite. I always crave fresh fruits.” but on the inside it tore her apart talking about Kyra like that.

Linos laughed and patted her shoulder after he rose to his feet. “Then the rumors are true that you provide Zeus with competition.”

“As long as that doesn’t bring down Zeus’ anger on me, I’ve no problem admitting that.” Kassandra said and followed him outside.

With the heat of the day finally gone and the sun hidden behind the ocean, the sky turned a deep pinkish red. Chirping cicadas went on their daily evening business and Kassandra took in a breath of the now comfortable evening air.

Linos called for two of his Strategos and together the misthios and the Spartans went their way to the Archon’s. It was only a reasonably short walk and when they arrived at the Villa the nightsky was fully set.

Waiting in the forecourt to be received by the Archon, Linos noticed Kassandra was standing in front of the premises searching for a comfortable seat which she quickly found in the form of a staircase like flat rock.

“Kassandra? Did she scare you too much at the last meeting?”

“The misthios is no longer welcome here.” Praxos said as he and Kyra walked down the stairs. Kyra's attention was on Linos alone, she didn't gave Kassandra a single look.

Short greetings were exchanged. And then Linos dared to take Kyra’s hand and planted a kiss on the back of it. And Kyra smiled. She fucking smiled. It was a slight smile but still.

For a split second Kassandra considered following Linos, just to provoke a reaction from Kyra but then let reason prevail. In the end she only would make things worse.

Was that why Linos had asked about Kyra? To make sure Kassandra wasn’t interested anymore so he could make a pass at Kyra himself?

No matter what she tried, it just got worse. Confronting her was bad, staying away from her got Linos closer to Kyra. What a fucking mess.

She leaned back on her arms and looked up into the night sky, where she found the Orion constellation prominently shining.

 

 

They had made love several times until both were spent.

To Kassandra’s surprise Kyra had been on top most of the time. It had been quite a new experience for her but a pleasant one.

The campfire had gone out a while ago but the air was still warm. A breath of warm air caressing their naked bodies as they laid close against each other, comfortably lying on the blanket.

Kyra propped her upper body up on one arm, watching the chest of the Eagle Bearer rise and fall as she breathed steady. She had her eyes closed and Kyra wondered “Kassandra? Are you awake?”

“No. This is just my body talking while I’m asleep.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Kyra nudged softly into Kassandra’s flank eliciting a jump from the misthios.

“Ooh, is the mighty Kassandra ticklish?”

“No.” She replied, a little too quickly.

Their eyes met. While Kyra’s eyes turned mischievous, Kassandra’s showed jitters.

“Don’t-” was all Kassandra got out before Kyra started tickling her flank mercilessly.

The misthios was laughing and pleading at the same time, clearly inferior to Kyra’s fingers.

Kyra stopped only when she had straddled the stronger woman’s thighs. Kassandra was slightly out of breath as they entwined their hands, supporting Kyra’s straddling pose as the smaller woman leaned her weight on Kassandra’s arms.

“Now that I know the Eagle Bearer’s weakness I advise her to do whatever I want. Or she shall feel my powerful tickling attack again.”

“I’ll do anything, just please no more tickling oh mighty Kyra of Mykonos.” Kassandra pleaded feigning fear.

“Good.” Kyra murmured pleased. “I want to show you something.” She said, shifting her weight lightly.

“Oh!?” Kassandra let out in a quivering breath as she felt Kyra’s sex, it was still damp, brushing lightly over her thighs.

Kyra rolled her eyes “Sorry to disappoint you but…”

“Oh.” her disappointment was clearly recognizable in her expression and voice.

Kyra chuckled “By the gods, you are insatiable.”

“Like every goddess.” The misthios proudly admitted with a cocky grin.

Kyra smirked but decided to ignore the sophomoric comment and changed into a more serious mode “Are you familiar with star constellations?”

“Not really.” Kassandra admitted.

“Look up in the sky.” Kyra said as she did so herself.

 Hundreds of stars were twinkling in the dark blue background.

“Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Yes.” Kassandra breathed in utter admiration.

Kyra looked down and pressed her lips together in feigned annoyance as she saw where Kassandra’s eyes were set. “I was talking about the stars.”

“Oh. Right. Stars. They are beautiful... too.” The Eagle Bearer smirked, looking all cheeky as her gaze broke away from Kyra’s bosom and up to her eyes.

Kyra laid down again, cuddling close to Kassandra, pressing herself as close as possible to the other woman’s right side. Laying her head on top of Kassandra’s shoulder, using her right index finger to point at a certain spot in the sky. “Search for the part that is made up of three bright stars, that’s Orion’s Belt.”

“Uh huh.”

“Above the belt, slightly left you see a bright yellow star. And now just go further right and you see another bright blue star.” Kyra guided Kassandra’s eyes.

“If you now look below the belt you‘ll recognize two more bright stars like the ones above it. The constellation has a clear hour-glass shape with Orion's Belt in the centre.”

Kassandra gazed for a while into the night sky. “It’s beautiful indeed.” she admitted in awe.

“It is.” Kyra said in admiration. Leaning on her elbow again, propping her head up with her left hand she started playing with Kassandra’s braid “How much do you know about Orion?” Kyra asked casually.

Kassandra pondered for a while before she began “He was a great hunter who joined Artemis's Hunt. He was the first ever male to ever enter the Hunt.”

Kyra waited a short time until she was sure Kassandra had said all she knew before she started telling.

“Inevitably, he slowly started getting closer to Artemis, and eventually fell in love with her, even though he knew she had sworn an oath of maidenhood. Artemis did not sense this at the time, so she let him stay in the Hunt. The problem was that Orion was too good a hunter, and got in over his head. He killed too many animals, which was against the Hunters' nature, which was not to harm nature if it was not of danger to them. Gaea, the Earth Spirit, sensed this, and sent a giant scorpion to kill him, to punish him for his sins against nature. Artemis mourned his death, and herself made a constellation dedicated him, namely, the Orion's Belt.” Kyra finishes in awe.

“How do you know all this?” Kassandra inquired amazed, genuinely interested in more. She moved her head to the right, leaning it against Kyra’s. Her jaw propped above the forehead of the smaller woman.

“Praxos. We had been hunting for food, mostly at nights to evade Podarkes’ men. And while we sat and waited for prey he taught me a lot about star constellations. Orion is my favorite.”

Kassandra noticed that Kyra’s voice shifted from eager to sad.

“His older sister was one of Artemis’ daughters that took care of me after…” Kyra trailed off, there was no need to explain further. Kassandra already knew what had happened to Kyra and the daughters.

Huddled up to one another, Kyra laid an arm over Kassandra’s chest, hugging her shoulder while Kassandra laid her hand over Kyra’s upper arm, stroking her soft biceps.

“I was seven when I lost my family.” Kassandra suddenly ventured.

Kyra held her breath for a second when she realized that _another time_ was now, rubbing her thumb in soft circles where her hand rested on the other woman’s shoulder. She felt the bump of a long scar with her thumb tip.

“Do you know about the Spartan purpose of Mount Taygetos?”

“It’s where Spartans throw their criminals into a chasm.” Kyra said and tentatively added “And it’s said they also do it with weak and sickly newborns.”

“My baby brother wasn’t weak or sick nor crippled. And still the ephor’s demanded it because the oracle had spoken.”

Kyra listened as she hugged the misthios shoulder, encouraging her to continue.

“I didn’t really understand back then what and why this was happening. All I saw was my mother crying, desperate and the man I thought my father watching and letting it happen with a blank expression. I couldn’t just stand there and watch like he did. I tried to save Alexios but I failed! I failed because I stumbled and threw him and the ephor holding him off the cliff.” A sombre mournfulness in Kassandra's voice revealed that she blamed herself.

Kyra’s hand moved from the scarred shoulder a short length down, resting above Kassandra’s heart. Her finger continued caressingly stroking the skin.

“I had brought shame and dishonor to my family and the only way my father could prevent my family being exiled was to throw me over too ….” her voice almost cracked. She made a considerable pause, taking a deep shaky breath.

Kyra didn’t dare to move or to say anything yet. She waited, gave Kassandra time to find the strength to continue.

“I believed my father would protect me from the shouting priests and their demand, I was just a child after all. But his honor to serve Sparta was more important to him. He seized my wrist, lifted me up and threw me off that fucking cliff. He threw me off that fucking cliff.” She repeated and it sounded like she still couldn’t believe it. Her voice didn’t sound angry, Kyra noticed with surprise. No, it was bleak and somehow strangely detached. Kyra didn’t know how much more she could take. Her stomach tightened with every sentence.

“I’ll never forget the sound of the cry from my mother as I fell. The hundreds of bones I landed on, the sound of them breaking at the impact. The pain on my face, the disgusted feeling upon realizing that it was bone fragments that were stuck on my face. My body hurting everywhere as I fled from the place that was home.”

But then some light returned into Kassandra’s voice. “It was there that Ikaros and I met. He helped me find my way through the stormy night, to the shore and a skiff. We went out onto the stormy sea and ended up on Kephallonia the next day.”

\-----

 

Kephallonia. She wondered what Markos was doing right now. If he was ok, or if the townsfolk had hanged him by now. Her thoughts were interrupted by laughter coming through and down from the upper level balcony. She couldn’t hear what they were saying but she definitely recognized the voices of Kyra and Linos.

It felt like she had already been waiting for hours. The thought of Linos and Kyra having fun together didn’t help her get out of her sour mood. She was sick of waiting, felt like a useless puppy who would only poop in the room and thus had to wait outside. A part of her wanted to crash the party, the other part was so pissed that she just wanted to get wasted and fuck the hetaera. The one that reminded her of Kyra. She would fuck her vigorously she decided, just as she heard Kyra laughing once more after Linos had spoken.

 

As they were standing together over the map of the Silver Islands Kyra didn’t miss the sidelong glances Linos cast at her now and then. It hadn’t been for the first time either. His eyes had raked over her body on the first meeting already but with more modesty than now.

“How many ships do you have in your naval fleet?” Lino's inquired.

“Five Pentaconters. Two on Mykonos and three on Delos. And one unseaworthy Trireme.”

Linos rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

“The Athenians would definitely be outnumbered if my men back up your ground forces.” Kyra suggested.

“Yes but I want Kassandra and my special troop to lure the soldiers out of their fort and up that cliff like hill here. While the Spartans from fort Miltiades clear out the remaining soldiers in the Athenian fort.” He said and pointed to the place on the map. “Once they are up there we can block their retreat while you and your ships decoy their naval fleet; just in case the luring out part isn’t going as planned. The archers of the manned trireme won't be a threat to your agile and faster ships.”

“You’re relying a lot on the misthios.”

“I’m very sorry if mentioning her makes you feel uneasy but she’s an important part of my plan and a valuable weapon. It’s not my wish to give you discomfort, quite the contrary even.” He said and let his eyes speak as he admired her thoroughly.

Kyra decided to play along. “Quite a charmer aren't you? But don’t worry, mentioning your poodle won’t cause me uneasiness.”

“I’m relieved, I must admit that I was a bit worried after the misthios told me about your …encounter.”

“And what exactly did her telling contain?” despite sounding indifferent she was quite curious inwardly.

“That you weren’t good enough to satisfy her needs.”

Kyra stared at him with an unreadable expression but laughed inwardly, thinking back at Kassandra squirming and whimpering under her, then grinned lopsidedly and licked her upper lip. “Let's concentrate on the task on hand for now. There’ll be time to exult about other things after we force the Athenians off the Silver Islands.

He raised an expectant eyebrow. “Of course.”

 

 

When Linos finally exited the Villa, approaching her, Kassandra saw Praxos and Kyra moving on the balcony. Her eyes clung to Kyra, waiting, hoping she would finally look at her but she didn't. She shifted her angry glare away from Kyra, putting on a neutral expression as Linos told her the plan would be executed tomorrow like they had planned together at the fort earlier that day.

 

“What’s bothering you, Kyra?” Praxos got into it.

“Something’s not right with the Polemarch. Like he’s hiding something. I got the feeling he’s trying to keep us away from the actual fight, but not for concern or safety reasons.”

“Kassandra seems to trust him. At least it looks like they get along well. And her reasoning isn’t bad, usually,” he added after remembering the mess she had left behind, a dead Spartan and an absolutely devastated Kyra. He glowered down at the two Spartans and watched as the Polemarch patted the misthios’ shoulder before he turned around and walked away.

“She looks crestfallen.” Praxos pointed out, even feeling a bit sorry for her.

“Good.” Kyra accepted, satisfied, keeping her eyes up to the stars.

 

“You look tired, Kassandra. Make sure you are well rested. We will start the mission when the Athenians are having their midday meal.” Clapping her on the shoulder encouragingly he smiled with satisfaction that made her wonder why he was in such good spirits. Did he flirt with Kyra, did she flirt back?

She smiled back despite prefering to punch him in the face. Returning his goodbye she saw Ikaros flying towards the balcony and landing on the handrail. Kyra still didn’t deign to look at her but gave Ikaros her full attention instead, chatting to him happily and stroking over his head and back. She had Praxos’ full attention though, glaring warningly at her.

The Eagle Bearer decided to call it a day and made her way back to the Tavern, without her feathered companion.

Kassandra was brooding on her way back to town. She was angry with Linos but it was her own fault for making him believe she didn’t care about Kyra anymore. The Polemarch had been polite and respectful towards her all the time, he didn’t deserve her resentment.

And Kyra? Did she truly like Linos or was that her way of making Kassandra hurt? She cursed inwardly, angry at herself for having killed Thaletas, for shouting at Kyra instead of having tried to explain to her why she’d killed him in the first place. Kyra had been so mad at her, after all that time. If she herself had been able to forgive Nikolaos, Kyra should forgive her too, Kassandra pouted. A piping above her shook her out of her dark thoughts. Ikaros landed agilely on her shoulder.

“At least she still likes you, buddy.”

Ikaros chirped and squeaked his response.

“Very funny. You can be quite an ass for a bird.”

Kassandra was sulky, disappointed even when she couldn’t find the hetaera among the tavern’s occupants.

She ordered some wine and a light meal, playing more with the olives and goat cheese instead of eating.

She’d messed it up, she knew it but she wasn’t ready to accept it, yet. All the things she wanted to explain to Kyra had remained unsaid. But during their meeting Kyra had hardly let her speak and when she finally had the chance to talk she said the wrong things instead.

She wiped her hands clean on a piece of bread and tossed it towards the dog that had been patiently waiting next to her. Happily he vanished under the table of his owner and left Kassandra to her melancholia.

 _Which part of “Never come back” didn’t you understand?_ Kyra’s words echoed in her head.

It hadn’t even been her own decision to come to Mykonos.

Every option she ran through her head looked unpromising. She couldn’t even get close enough to Kyra without Praxos noticing. He guarded her like his most precious treasure.

Sneaking in would probably end in Kyra killing her herself, or Kyra shouting at her and Praxos killing her. Sending Ikaros with a message, Kyra would simply ignore it. Emptying her cup she growled inwardly when she went to refill it, finding out the amphora was already empty. She ordered another one.

It wasn’t fair of Kyra to slap her in the face, accusing her, saying that everything had been her fault and not giving her a chance to talk and defend herself. It made her downright furious.

Customers came in and out the tavern and whenever the door opened she looked up, hoping to see the familiar face of the hetaera. By the time she finally had managed to clear her plate the second amphora was empty too.

She hadn’t realized how drunk she was until she called for the innkeeper, ordering a third amphora. But since she already was drunk why not get more drunk. It felt good and if she dared admit it to herself, it felt good being mad at Kyra without feeling guilty. Actually it felt good being mad at anyone. Maybe she should go and punch a few faces.

“I think you had enough, Spartan warrior lady.” The innkeeper said.

Beginning with his face maybe, she thought as she lectured him. “I’m a misthios. And I decide when I’ve had enough.” Kassandra was already slurring slightly.

“Look. I saw what you’re capable of when someone makes the wrong pass at you. And I don’t want to know what happens when some bloke tries to touch your ass while you’re drunk. I like my tavern the way it is. Intact, bloodless and with people alive.” He tried to reason without making her upset.

“Give me more wine.” Kassandra demanded angrily.

She pounded her fist on the table to lend more weight to her demand.

A soothing hand suddenly laid upons Kassandra’s fist.

“I think he is right, misthios.” A gentle voice tried to reason.

Kassandra looked to her right, the woman she had waited for was finally here. Her rigid posture relaxed immediately. Her fist changed into a flat hand.

“It’s okay, Mikis. I’ll take care of her.” The hetaera reassured the innkeeper. With one last glance at Kassandra and a huff he turned around and went back to his business.

Kassandra’s eyes were all over the woman. And damn she smelt incredible. She leaned in, sniffed her neck. The hetaera just smiled.

“You smell lovely.” Kassandra hummed. “What is it?” She asked as she gently took the woman’s hand in hers, lifting it up to her nose, smelling at it too.

“Why, thank you? And your name is?” The hetaera asked amused.

“I- I’m sorry.” Kassandra blushed lightly as she realised her pushy behaviour and let go of the woman’s hand, removing herself from the hetaera’s personal space.

“It’s okay. I’m Nike by the way. Come.” She offered alluringly, the sweetest smile graced her full lips as she stood up, reaching for Kassandra’s hand.

How could she say no to such a lovely face and voice.

“Let’s get you to bed.” Nike purred as she dragged the misthios along behind her.

“I’m not tired.” Kassandra said flustered.

“I did not say anything about sleeping, did I?” Nike looked back, searching for Kassandra’s eyes and winked at her.

The floor was ill-lit and as they reached the front of Kassandra’s room she imagined it was Kyra standing next to her.

“Kyra.” Kassandra muttered softly, she suddenly felt like she was in a daydream.

A unfazed chuckle. “I can be her for you. You wouldn’t be the first one.” She answered as both entered the small cozy cabin.

The voice didn’t match Kyra’s and it shook Kassandra out of her fantasy. Suddenly feeling a bit more sober. But also angry again.

Nike sensed the shift in Kassandra and changed the topic. “You still haven’t told me your name. Unless you want me to call you Misthios?”

The Spartan woman pondered over what she actually wanted to do now with Nike who reminded her so much of Kyra. She was still desperate for her but also cursed Kyra right now. Kassandra came to a conclusion. She just wanted to fuck. Stop thinking for a time and take her mind off things.

“Kassandra.”

“As in the Kassandra, the Eagle Bearer?” Nike inquired with a hunch.

“Would it matter?” she prickly countered.

“That depends on a few things.” she approached discreetly.

“Which would be?” Kassandra was noticeably cagey.

“Relax.” Nike hushed, cupped the misthios’ cheeks, caressed them until Kassandra began to relax visibly. She stroked down the strong arms before laying her palms flat on the breastplated chest. “Does it matter to you that I resemble the Archon? Are you upset at her?” Kassandra evaded her eyes, gazing at the floor.

“I've served a few men who, let's say, had a less enjoyable and successful encounter with the Archon.”

She gave Kassandra time to think. In the meantime she lit an oil lamp, lighting the room up a bit. She decided to put the oil lamp into the furthest corner, so Kassandra could keep up the illusion of Kyra if she wished to.

“You can be rough with me if that’s what you need. Or you can tell me all the things you want to tell the Archon.” she gently offered as she walked back to the misthios.

Kassandra nodded, looked up from Nike’s feet when her dress hit the floor.

 

Nike is naked and smiling kindly.

Kassandra pulls Nike in, her kisses are rough and demanding.

Nike helps Kassandra get out of her armor. Her hands are swift and skilled at it Kassandra notices. And she’s thankful. She isn’t sure if she would had gotten out of her armor so easily, plastered as she is. A vision of her fighting with her armor at the beach and Kyra watching and giggling flashes before her eyes. She pulls away from Nike. Shakes her head in an attempt to free her mind from the vision and mumbles an apology at the other woman’s inquiring look.

Kassandra feels proud, she banishes Kyra out of her mind quickly. Kyra has no power over her, this is Kassandra’s moment. She’s in charge here. She makes the decisions now.

Her eyes drift down to Nike’s tits. Eager to touch them, her hands follow. Her fingertips softly tracing the outlines of Nike’s breasts, her thumbs forming small circles around the nipples, before her hands grab hold of them squeezing and kneading the hetare’s tits thoroughly. As she abandons them Nike makes a small protesting noise. Kassandra takes a step back and takes off her chiton but keeps her perizoma and strophion on to keep Nike from giving her pleasure. She’s not here for physical pleasure, she needs to stay in charge.

Nike revels in the sight of the sturdy body in front of her. She hasn’t seen a woman with a build like this before. It’s a unique physique, sturdy legs, every muscle a small masterpiece. The V shaped muscle below her abdomen, a deep indentation sloping down from her hips; beginning at her hip bones, running diagonally until each side meets in the pelvic region. Her abdomen is well defined too and her arms another masterpiece. Lust and desire comes over Nike like she hasn’t felt in for a long time.

She closes in on Kassandra and they resume kissing, still rough but not as hard as before. Nike gently takes hold of Kassandra’s throat, pushes her backwards until her legs bump into the bed drawer. Kassandra stiffens as Nike’s action conjures another image of Kyra in front of her eyes.

Nike misinterprets Kassandra’s resistance as an invitation to use more force. But when she puts her hand on her chest and pushes, Nike is surprised that Kassandra’s body doesn’t fall backwards onto the bed. Anger flashes up in the misthios’ eyes.

She is sick of being hunted. Why is she pursuing her mind relentlessly. Why won’t Kyra let her fuck this woman?

“Fuck you, Kyra. I’m going to show you who is in charge now.” Kassandra growls, arms darting forward, turning their positions around. Grabbing her swiftly, pushing her down, placing her whole weight on top of Nike. She catches Nike’s hands with one of hers, pins them down above her head, secured. With her knees Kassandra roughly pushes Nike’s legs apart. Her breath is hot and her bite hard on her tits. Kassandra growls when Nike hisses in pain. But it is a pleasurable pain from the moan that Nike offers instantly after. Kassandra’s substantial fingers brushing quick and rough over her clit and then making a vigorous push into Nike. Lengthy fingers fucking her deeply and mercilessly.

“You fuck like a goddess.” Nike breathes as she feels Kassandra moving in and out of her and at the same time sucking and biting one of her nipples like a hungry infant. On the brink of her own climax Nike moans the best compliments she can find to make Kassandra feel big and strong.

“You are outshining Zeus himself. By the gods, you are insatiable.”

No sooner has Nike spoken than Kassandra freezes and abandons her ministrations.

Nike sits up as the other woman releases her hands. Kassandra is kneeling in front of her. Judging by the look,her mind seems to be somewhere else.

“I’m sorry.” Kassandra says as she registers that she has abandoned Nike in the middle of coming. Her head falls forward onto her chest hiding it in her hands.

“Don’t be.” Nike tries to comfort the visibly distressed woman as she is crawling over to her. Hugging her shoulders.

“Relax.” she soothes while stroking caringly over her shoulders and upper arms.

“I’ll try, I’m sorry.” Kassandra’s body is starting to shake as she forbids herself to cry.

“Do you want me to just hold you for a while?” Nike tenderly suggests.

The Eagle Bearer nods. Her breathing ragged.

Nike lays down, dragging the trembling woman gingerly down with her. Kassandra nestles her head against Nike’s bosom.

The moment Nike starts to caress Kassandra’s hair she begins to cry.

After a while, when the sobbing stops Nike’s bosom is wet with Kassandra’s tears.

“You smell so good, what is it?” Kassandra murmurs at last.

“Coconut oil. Would you like me to oil you?” She asks softly.

Kassandra doesn’t answer she has fallen asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a night with the hetaera Nike that didn't go as expected, Kassandra get's ready for battle against the Athenians.  
> Unexpecting things unfold in front of Kyra's eyes.  
> A new opponent has arrived.  
> Ikaros to the rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter (due to the perfect cliffhanger *evil laughing* ) than the last two but the lack of words will be compensated with a thrilling battle as a new opponnet arrives.
> 
> For this chapter I can't and wont take the praise alone because the always amazing Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic added her magic writing skills and helped me with quite a few paragraphs and ideas. Thank you Senpai :3

Kassandra woke up with a heavy head. Lying flat on her belly, the left side of her head pressed into the linen she felt wetness on her cheek, probably her own saliva that had ran out of her open mouth and soaked into the bed sheet.

She growled when the headache became worse as she leaned up on her elbows. Her sight was obscured by her messy hair. She sat up, and started to disentangle the mass on her head when suddenly a warm hand caressed up her back.

Kassandra’s spine stiffened.

Oh god. It hadn’t been a dream. She had hoped it had all just been a bad dream. Nike, the failed attempt at fucking her, the crying. Slowly but surely the memories of last night crept back into her head. It was embarrassing and humiliating. She was suddenly overcome with the urge to get out of here with what remained of her dignity intact .

She closed her eyes and braced her arms on the edge of the bed as she felt the warmth of a body closing in on her. Skillful hands massaging her shoulders lightly.

“How is it that the mighty Eagle Bearer is traveling around in full Spartan armor?” Nike asked softly, nosing the back of her neck.

“Certain jobs involve special requirements.” answered Kassandra sullenly and raised to her feet, leaving Nike alone at the edge of the bed.

Nike sensed Kassandra’s mood. She had hoped that after what they had gone through the night before that Kassandra would feel better. That she’d been able to shake off a part of what was troubling this poor soul. If she knew beforehand what awaited her with every customer she could adjust her prices accordingly, she thought.

Kassandra adjusted her strophion that had slipped askew in the night while she had been asleep. When she smelled a new but familiar scent she sniffed at her arms. “Did you oil me?” she asked curiously but didn’t look back. “Hairband?” she muttered to herself.

Nike watched as Kassandra searched for her hairband. Gave her space to adjust, time to accept whatever it was that made her so upset. She used the time to put her dress on.

“You fell asleep before I got an answer from you. I guess it just rubbed off my skin to yours,” Nike paused searching for a way to say it more discreetly, to not make Kassandra feel more uncomfortable than she already looked “… when our bodies were close.”

“I’ll pay you then you’re free to leave.” Kassandra said as she rummaged through her belongings. She still hadn’t found her hairband.

Obviously this woman had major issues with the Archon, but she was holding back. It was time to push her a bit, Nike thought. She needed to get some of them out.

“Relax, I’m in no hurry. In case you don’t remember. You did not betray the woman you love.”

Kassandra stared at her doubtfully, pressed her lips together and took a deep breath through her nose. “I was knuckles deep inside of you.” She remembered awkwardly, feeling guilty.

“Are you and Kyra in a relationship?”

“No.” Kassandra admitted in a mutter. Head low. But Nike was right, somehow. But still. It did feel like betraying Kyra. She was starting to feel annoyed with herself.

“What makes _you_ an expert about my feelings for her?” Kassandra asked, irritated.

“I’ve become good at reading people over time. When you think about how many shady, dangerous types I encounter year after year; next to the decent ones like you, if I hadn't learned to read people I probably wouldn’t have survived for thirty nine years.” Nike lectured the younger woman, mild-mannered.

“I…” Kassandra began sheepishly but didn’t know what to say as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Don’t distress yourself. You're not the first person to fall asleep crying on my bosom and you won't be the last. I know how to be discrete.”

Nike rose from the bed and cautiously approached the misthios, “come.” she said and carefully reached out, gently taking Kassandra’s hands in hers, guiding her back to the bed. Beckoning her to sit down, she noticed that Kassandra’s posture looked more relaxed. “Tell me about you and Kyra while I braid your hair and I tell you what I know about her.”

“What do you know about her?” Kassandra asked curiously as she sat down back with Nike.

“Since she took over the job of Podarkes; may he drown in the Styx forever, she has turned away quite a few admirers.” Nike said as she knelt down on the bed behind the Eagle Bearer. “She devoted herself to the Silver Islands, the citizens hold her in high esteem and this for a very good reason. Mykonos and Delos flourish under her leadership.” Nike told her as she gently brushed Kassandra’s hair. “There _is_ gossip about her though.“

“What kind of gossip?” Kassandra prodded uncertainly, not sure she wanted to hear it, especially if it was about Thaletas.

Nike laid the brush aside and moved to Kassandra’s left side. Tucking one leg under her other as she started braiding the other woman’s hair.

“During the rebellion against Podarkes, she fell in love with a young Spartan but he got killed by a second secret lover as they fought for Kyra’s love. And since then the Archon hadn’t allowed herself to fall in love again.”

“What happened to the secret lover?” Kassandra cautiously inquired as she locked eyes with Nike.

“No one knows. But maybe you do?” Nike raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly, her eyes gave away that she actually was aware that the secret lover was sitting right next to her.

While Nike finished Kassandra’s braid she listened attentively to Kassandra’s words. The younger woman opened up quite a bit to her. And she began to understood more why she had been so constrained and confused last night.

Kassandra enjoyed the rest of the time she spent with the older woman, she felt in good hands, even told her about the job she has to carry out today and when Nike offered her a massage and to oil her, she accepted willingly.

“Coconut oil.” Kassandra said, still fascinated by the smell. It made her mouth water and she sniffed her lower arm once more, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, memorizing the scent. “What is it made of?” She inquired curious and eager.

“Coconuts!” Nike laughed, not unkindly. Seeing Kassandra’s expression she continued, “I understand from those who have seen them that they are an exotic fruit, big, hard, extremely hairy,” she smirked, “And therefore entirely appropriate for a hetaera?” she laughed at Kassandra’s dubious look.

“Where can I buy it? I can’t recall hearing of it ever before.”

Nike smiled as she helped the misthios put on her leather armor. “It’s a gift I get from a regular customer. He purchases it on Messara. Little Egypt is the only place you can buy it,” the hetaera said as she fastened the straps on the brown leathered chest piece. She took a step back, tilted her head slightly to the left and seized the misthios up.

She looked stunning. The finely worked leather was elaborately decorated with fine metal carvings. A blue and white shawl and hood set off the reddish brown chest piece. Golden bracers and boots completed the look perfectly.

“Looking dashing and ready to smash some Athenian heads.” Nike joked.

Today it was important to be on her best form and Kassandra had made a conscious decision to wear armor she felt comfortable in. She would no doubt be under pressure, especially while fighting alongside other people, people who would be eyeing her critically, waiting for her to slip up, but who also would be relying on her to have their backs, even if they would never admit as much. She needed to be in absolute top form and moving in something heavy and stiff would prevent her from moving agilely and fast. She didn’t care if Linos or even King Archidamos wouldn’t approve. What mattered was to win the upcoming battle and complete Archidamos’ mission. For her mother, for the house, for her family honor. And maybe for herself and Kyra too.

She smiled at Nike’s statement. “Before I pay you, would you like to join me for breakfast?”

“I’d love to, mighty Eagle Bearer.” Nike purred and hooked her arm into Kassandra’s as they went down.

After sharing breakfast Kassandra thanked Nike for everything. She felt a sense of warm gratitude towards Nike, she had been kind and sensitive, hadn’t mocked Kassandra for her failings or reproved her for her roughness. Nike had shown her a kindness that she’d had no right to expect from a hetaera and she wished her well, hoped that life in its turn would treat this woman as gently as she had treated Kassandra. She paid her, insisting on a substantial tip “To buy you some more of that delicious coconut oil, from me”, she smiled teasingly. She didn’t know if she would see her again anytime soon, but she wished her well. She expected to set sail back to Sparta shortly after the mission.

Kassandra went on her way to Fort Miltiades to meet up with Polemarch Linos. It was still morning, the sun hasn’t reached its highest point yet and the temperature was still pleasant.

As she made her way through the town she passed a large building that was signed as an orphanage.

She made a small pause and watched the children in front of the house playing with an episkyros. One of the girls had her hair put up in a knot just like Phoebe had and Kassandra’s heart sank into a dark pit. She balled her fists when pictures of her little girl lying dead in her own blood flashed in front of her eyes.

A familiar voice shook her out of the grievous memory. Kyra hadn’t noticed her yet. She was walking out of the orphanage’s front door, deep in discussion with another woman. Praxos was nowhere to be seen. Kassandra strained her ears and she could hear the conversation clearly. The woman was thanking the Archon for all the financial and material support. “May the gods protect and favor you forever.” she said towards Kyra as she took her hands in hers shaking them.

Nike hadn’t exaggerated when she said the people held Kyra in high esteem.

As Kassandra watched Kyra interacting with some of the children, kneeling down to some chatting happily, showing them how to hold the stick correctly to hit the ball, she thought to herself that Kyra had built herself up a good life after Podarkes’ fall. She deserved nothing less. And she deserved someone better than her.

Kyra had cried when she had admitted that she had loved Thaletas. And Kassandra had taken him from her. Kyra hadn’t said she loved her. She had never said it, it occurred to her just now. Kyra had always loved Thaletas and she had been so foolish and blinded by Kyra’s beauty and fiery nature that she hadn’t seen it.

An eagle piped up in the sky and Kyra had heard it too. She straightened up and turned around and then saw Kassandra standing on the other side of the street. Kyra’s expression changed immediately into a scowl as she spotted the Eagle Bearer leaning against a balustrade.

_You didn’t just take his life you also destroyed mine._

The Eagle Bearer, destroyer of lives. Kassandra thought bitterly.

 

Kassandra put her hood up, glanced one last time at Kyra, “chaire, astéri mou.” she said in a low voice, her legs set in motion and with that she made the decision to leave Kyra alone, forever.

 

 

 

The strategy of luring the Athenians out of the fort and up the cliff had worked as planned.

As the last soldier fell Praxos and Kyra observed from a distance how the Spartans cheered and shouted in excitement at their victory. Even the misthios chimed into their HO-RAA singsong as she put her arms up into the air.

Kyra felt a bit confounded but also relieved that her gut feeling about Linos hiding something hadn’t come true. With a relieved smile that the battle had been won, she made her first step down from their covert watching spot as Praxos suddenly put his arm in front of her, stopping her. “Look.” He said with an ominous voice as he nodded towards the cliff.

Kyra’s eyes went wide as she watched the scene before her unfold with a slackjawed apprehensive expression.

 

“HO-RAA, HO-RAA, HO-RAA.” They all shouted as one. Slapping their fists on their chests and up in the air.

Kassandra flashed her teeth, grinning proudly, she finally felt like a Spartan amidst her comrades in arms. Some of them even patted her on the shoulder before they cleared away.

Sheathing her Kopis, feeling satisfaction about the battle’s outcome she took a deep breath as she overlooked the cliff’s edge; it went down several meters before it ended in a dusty clearing surrounded by a small dense olive-grove. Standing above the forest, overlooking the beach and sea she felt like a true hero. Today was a good day; she mused, she would celebrate their victory with a woman, and wine with Linos and his men who finally accepted her as a Spartan. Arms akimbo she already thought about reporting back to Sparta, the thought of seeing her mother again filled her with joy. She had no idea how long she had been standing there, lost in thought, imagining her mother smiling happily at her in the family home, how proud she would be of her lamb. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to head back to see her mother again.

Suddenly Ikaros screeched a warning. She looked up as he flew above her head and behind her, she turned away from the chasm and then forward to where Linos stood, only a couple steps away.

A drawn back bow in his hand, the arrow aimed at her throat and before she even had the chance to properly evade, Linos had let go of the bowstring.

The arrow drilled through the leather armor and pierced the pectoral muscle in her front shoulder, the powerful impact due to the short distance sending her staggering a few steps backward.

Penetrating pain sent white flashes over her eyes.

A painful outcry, her hand went to the arrow shaft, the shoulder burned _“Malak_ -”

The heavy kick to her abdomen drove the air out of her lungs. She buckled up from the pain; her vision went black for a split second, Kassandra took one step backward before she gained a part of her bearings back, straightening up again. Her field of vision still black at the edges.

She saw Ikaros plummeting down next to her, attacking a Spartan who had come dangerously close to her without her noticing. Beating his mighty wings he snatched off the soldier’s helmet, Ikaros attacked his head fiercely, leaving deep bloody cuts on his forehead. The man flailed wildly, lashing out with his spear, half blind with blood and with a lucky swing he hit the eagle with the head of his spear. With a yelp Ikaros fell to the ground.

“Noo!” Kassandra shouted, stretching her left arm out towards where her feathered friend lay on the ground. A desperate gesture to be close to him and protect him. Ikaros squeaked, tumbled up on his feet and flew away.

Before she saw him it was too late, Linos braced his left foot, leaning his upper body backwards, launched his right foot with all the power he could muster and struck out for a mighty kick, “Pausanias sends his greetings.” Before she had the chance to evade, the kick hit her forcefully and she stumbled backwards, struggling to keep her balance, tumbling close to the brink of the cliff. A second kick followed right away and knocked her over the edge.

She fell.

And for a moment she was back in the dark, cold, rainy night, falling off Taygetos.

A forceful impact shook her out of the past and into the present nightmare as she hit her head when she landed hard on her back. All air was knocked out of her when her body forcefully impacted with the ground. Dirt stirred up around her. The arrow in her shoulder was broken off but she could still feel it burning in her flesh. _Poisoned arrows, suits him. Pausanias! That Malakes snake in the grass. The traitor king was Pausanias not Archidamos._

The back of her head ached and throbbed relentlessly. Kassandra moaned. She felt something warm running down the back of her head. Touching it she knew it was blood, she didn’t even need to look at her fingers. Black fog still clawed at the edge of her vision. Blood dripped down her forehead and into her eyes blurring her vision even more.

Peering up, she could just make out the blurry figure of Linos above. Looking down, eyes searching and when he spotted her he prepared another arrow. Bowstring halfway pulled back Linos surprisingly aborted his attack and kept looking at her with an evil grin.

She wondered what had halted him but not for long as as she tried to sit up, the pulsing pain in her head increased and then she heard it. A deep growl to the right. A mighty paw moved out of the shadow and then the rest of the imposing lion.

He was still several feet away. Kassandra’s hand reached for her sword, it was gone, her spear? Not on its usual place on her back. It lay an arm’s length away in the dirt.

Linos was gloating up on the cliff watching the scene unfold. But Kassandra hadn’t any time to curse him with a lion breathing down her neck.

The lion growled again, teeth showing, his eyes fixed on the injured prey. He hung his head low but forward, approaching slowly with his muscled legs and mighty paws, tail twitching. He would leap at her any second, Kassandra had to be fast.

Straining all her muscles, in her sitting position she turned quickly to her left and shuffled towards the spear. She heard an angry snarl and paws digging through dirt behind her just as she reached out with her wounded arm. The poisoned arrow still sticking in her muscle hindered her at being quicker than usual. She was about to grab the spears shaft when massive claws dug into her thighs and legs. Sharp talons pierced easily into her flesh and she cried out as her skin burned where claws ripped it apart.

Clutching at her legs the lion dragged Kassandra back into the shadows while she cried out and frantically dug her fingers into the dirt, trying to crawl away from him.

When both vanished in the shadows where he couldn’t watch the Eagle Bearer being devoured, Linos turned around and went away.

The lion dragged her deeper into the shadows and when she finally felt that he slightly let go of her legs she started thrashing. Her boot connected with something solid, a short yelp followed by a hiss confirmed she must had hit him somewhere. But before she was able to turn around he lunged forward and over her. She groaned as he pinned her down with his whole weight, standing on her shoulder with his front paws she had a hard time breathing. His tongue dragged over her head, into her hair which was wet quickly as he licked up the blood of her injury. It seemed to made him wild and she felt his claws scratching on the leather of her armor. He scratched so violently she feared he would be through very soon. Breathing became harder with every second, she groaned again as the lion shifted above her, he was obviously irritated at the thick leather protecting the delicious flesh underneath. When a paw pressed down on her injured shoulder she almost fainted as she felt the burning tip of the arrow piercing deeper into her flesh.

The lion’s fangs tore at her shawl and hood, tearing it apart; then went on with the leather, scratching and biting with his claws and teeth until a part of the armor’s fastenings went loose on her right side.

Panic crept into Kassandra, she needed more air. Whenever she breathed out her chest went more tight, lost more breath than she was able to take in. She turned her head as much as possible, looking for something she could grab and use as a weapon. Just anything that would get that beast off of her but there was nothing but dirt and grass. Her spear so far away she couldn’t see it anymore. Air. She needed air. Now. Her head was aching and her ears pulsing.

The pressing weight lifted off just before her panic reached its climax. She took a deep breath and a second one.

Face down in thick mud, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Kassandra’s heart was hammering in her chest, never before had she felt being so close to death. She was scared.

Of all the deaths she had imagined could happen to her, getting ripped apart and eaten alive by a lion had never crossed her mind.

 _That's it!_ She thought as she felt the breath of the mighty beast on her neck, as it towered over her, its big paws next to both sides of her head. His saliva dropping into the back of her neck as he made a bone chilling growl.

Pain shot through her upper body like a wildfire, zapped up her neck like a bolt of Zeus and exploded in her head, her vision going flashing white as the lion rammed his canines into her right shoulder. An anguish cry filled the air when Kassandra felt his fangs cut through her skin and wrench at her flesh. The lion shook her violently like a predator does to break the neck of its prey and it would had broken her neck if he hadn’t bitten into her shoulder instead.

Black stars danced in front of her eyes, the fear and pain she felt was overwhelming. Her vision blurred through tears and black spots, the latter a sure indication of fainting.

She made a final effort to crawl away when the lion let go of her. But then he took another bite and flung her left and right before she even had a chance. Kassandra wasn’t even able anymore to cry out in pain. She just waited, hoped that it would be over soon.

She heard a sudden yelp from the lion, her senses were almost gone but she could make out a flash of light before he had jumped away from her.

Then she heard the sound of a flying arrow hitting the ground next to her and the retreating growl of the lion.

Kassandra couldn’t move. Her shoulder and head burned and pulsed mercilessly. Muffled sound reached her pulsing ears, footsteps and a woman’s voice, “No, no, no.”

Someone turned her on her back. She could only make out two blurry figures hovering over her.

“I’ll carry her.” was the last thing that reached her ears before she passed out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kassandra got attacked by a lion and is heavily injured. Kyra and Praxos came to her rescue when the lion was about to tear her to pieces. Will they manage to save her life?  
> I know my summaries suck. I hate writing summaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my betareader Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic because we had the most dramatic comedic lesbian drama chat ever last night. XD If you havn't read her Kassandra stories yet go and take a look. https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic They rock just like the Author.  
> I still don't know how to tag-link user properly.  
> Also it's always a delight to kick around ideas for our stories and swooning over Kassandra's legs.  
> But enough praising now. Let's get act 5 started.

 

 

Kyra couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She was frozen to the spot, time seemed to stretch and slow as she watched Linos let go of the arrow that hit Kassandra full force.

Suddenly time snapped back to normal and Kyra started moving. “We need to help her.” She urged and jumped down the last two rocks.

“Kyra! Stop.” Praxos called and held her back by her arm, “this is suicide. Linos can see us clearly and has the advantage and picking us off from his vantage point.

“But-”

“Come,” he said as he saw the despair in her eyes. “She’s fought against troops alone before. And come out alive. Let’s get closer, but we must stay hidden for now.”

Moving more quickly, they sneaked up towards the cliff, making sure to stay hidden behind lush bushes, rocks and trees.

Diagonally across and not far from the overhang they found a secure spot in the small basin. Kyra looked slightly upwards as she heard Linos shout something and immediately land a kick on Kassandra who stood dangerously close to the edge.

Kassandra staggered, lost her balance and fell backwards, plummeting down.

“No-” Kyra shouted but she was quickly silenced by Praxos’ hand. She tried to get away from him but he held her secure in his strong arms.

He felt her whole body trembling as they heard the _thud_ of Kassandra’s body impacting on the ground.

“He will kill us if he see us. If you want to get to her we have to be cautious. Okay?” He whispered into her ear. Kyra nodded and Praxos let go of her.

It was a short sprint to the olive grove and Praxos lost sight of Kyra as he fought his way through trees and branches. While Kyra was the perfect size to swiftly slip through the dense undergrowth, Praxos felt like a clumsy giant fighting off clinging enemies. The dense cover cleared slowly and he was able to see the top edge of the overhang. Linos was looking down, eyes searching and preparing another arrow. This meant Kassandra must still be alive, it wasn’t a long enough drop to end in death, unless you had the bad luck of landing head first.

His eyes found Kassandra not too far away, lying on her back, touching her head carefully. To his left he registered movement. Kyra had her bow pointed at Linos, she looked calmer, composed even. He was glad she hadn’t rushed out into the clearing and into Linos’ line of sight. If Kyra shot at Linos before he shot Kassandra they wouldn’t have much time to haul Kassandra up and flee. If his men were to come back to check why their leader was so long gone and were to find him dead, then the Spartans would be down here in no time and Kyra and he wouldn’t stand a chance against so many, especially since the Eagle Bearer looked like she was in no condition to fight. And their horses were stationed more than a simple sprint away.

But Kyra didn’t have to shoot because Linos aborted his action. Praxos exchanged curious glances with Kyra before he went over to her hiding spot. He was about to speak about their next move when Kyra gasped and her eyes widened.

 

 

Kyra took a deep breath and smiled in relief when she saw Kassandra’s body out on the clearing. She was moving.

She had already opened her mouth to call out her name when she saw movement above. Instinctively, she darted back behind an olive tree, reclaiming the shadows, scowling at Linos. That son of a cunt!

The moment it was clear to her that he planned on shooting Kassandra again, Kyra drew her bow from her back and nocked an arrow, aiming at Linos. She would get him first, he wouldn’t even know what hit him. She would split his fucking head right open.

Kyra slowed her breathing until she couldn’t feel her chest moving anymore, her eyes focused on the spot between Linos’ brows, she made a silent prayer to Artemis, summoning the fire for her arrow. She was ready. But then Linos aborted his action mid-draw.

Narrowing her eyes, brows furrowed, she exchanged glances with Praxos before he sneaked over.

Linos seemed excited about something and then Kyra saw it.

A lion.

Impressive in size. White fur and golden eyes. His paws huge, as big as Kassandra’s head. He cautiously approached the wounded woman sitting on the ground, growling as he stepped out of the shadows into the sunlight.

 

 

“Kyra! We don’t want to alert his men, they would be down here in no time if they noticed us. We’d stand no chance.” Praxos tried to reason when he saw Kyra draw her bow again. She didn’t listen, she was already summoning her fire arrow.

Cursing, Praxos pried the bow away from her and let it fall to the ground as Kyra tried to shove him away. He took hold of both her arms, turned her around, pressed her back into his body and gripped her tight. Enveloping Kyra in his strong bear hug they both watched in shock as the beast leaped at the Eagle Bearer, gouging his sharp claws into her legs and dragging her backwards into the shadows of dense olive trees.

Kassandra’s wail of pain sent shivers down Kyra’s neck and she instinctively tried to break free from Praxos’ tight grip to rush and help the misthios. But he didn’t let her go, he waited, hoped that Linos would turn away now that he couldn’t see Kassandra and the lion anymore and when he finally did Praxos waited only a little longer just to make sure he was gone from the edge.

The moment he relaxed his grip a hungry roar and a agonised groan echoed through the shadow. Kyra finally thrashed free, grabbed her bow and darted forward, full tilt to the extensive trail of blood leading her to the entrance of a wide mouthed cave.

Petrified, Kyra watched in horror as the lion scratched madly at Kassandra’s body, clawing at her armor, while the misthios was helplessly pinned down, then he yawned wide and crunched his teeth into Kassandra’s shoulder, shaking her violently.

The anguished cry of the Eagle Bearer rang through Kyra’s ears and shook her out of what had seemed an eternity of horror. She drew her bow. Her whole body was shaking and she feared she’d miss or accidentally hit Kassandra. She felt like a little girl again holding her bow for the first time.

“Artemis will guide your arrow.” She heard Praxos’ calm voice next to her.

Kyra held her breath and released. The blazing arrow grazed the back of the lion’s upper thigh. He yelped and jolted back but only for a second.

Kyra cursed, hastily plucked another arrow from the quiver, but her hands were shaking awfully and it slipped from her fingers. “Malaka!”

The lion was already approaching Kassandra again, she hadn’t moved since the beast had let go of her.

Kyra took a breath, held it and fired again. The arrow hit the ground just in front of the lion’s paw, he growled but then slowly retreated further back into his cave. Vanishing into darkness.

Kyra and Praxos sprinted forward at once.

 

There was blood, so much blood around Kassandra’s deathly still figure. “No, no, no.” Kyra begged, falling to her knees as she reached the battered body.

It was hard to determine if Kassandra was still breathing. She didn’t even know where to touch her to turn her over. There was so much blood and by the gods her shoulder looked... Kyra had to turn her eyes away and concentrated on Kassandra’s lower back.

Praxos knelt down opposite, gently took hold of the Eagle Bearer’s heavily injured side; carefully rolling her, making sure to turn her onto her less injured side.

When Kyra heard faint whimpers and saw Kassandra’s bloody eyes moving she put both hands over her mouth and sobbed out of relief.

“I’ll carry her.” Praxos said. He pulled the misthios into a sitting position, readying to lift her up but Kyra stopped him. She removed the upper layer of her blue-gray chiton and carefully draped it around Kassandra’s upper body.

“I’ll go ahead and bring the horses.” Kyra hissed urgently and ran ahead.

 

 

They didn’t want to risk running into Linos with the presumed dead Eagle Bearer in Praxos’ arms and took hidden paths and secret routes on their way back to the Archon’s Villa. It was a longer ride from the east end of Mykonos to the west and Kassandra had drifted in and out of consciousness several times, as they rode.  Each time the period of consciousness became shorter and shorter.

During the ride back Kyra had considered the feelings she had gone through while witnessing Kassandra’s fall and the dreadful lion attack. She was irritated and confused by the depth of worry and fear she had experienced despite having been angry and dismissive towards Kassandra till now. Of course she wouldn’t have just let her die but the impetuous decision to run into danger, risking being spotted and putting not only her own, but Praxos’ life at risk baffled her. The uncontrollable shaking of her body while she was aiming at the lion she understood, it was horrid watching Kassandra getting mauled. The outburst of relieved crying was what troubled her almost more than risking Praxos life.

Upon finally arriving at the Villa, Kyra ordered one of the two guards at the entrance to help Praxos with getting Kassandra off the horse. Afterwards she bid them to let no one pass, to send away everyone and not say a word about what they had just witnessed.

Kyra had calmed down a good deal by now and was composed enough to make rational decisions again as she strode into the atrium and called for Savina. She explained to her briefly what had happened, while gesturing towards the Andron to answer Praxos’ question “Which room do you want her in?”

Savina gasped at the sight when she saw both Praxos and the injured misthios bathed in blood. Slack-jawed, she listened to Kyra’s instructions.

“Tell the housemaid we need warm water, then bring me blankets and cloths and every bandaging material you can gather up”.

Savina nodded and scurried away while Kyra helped Praxos lay Kassandra carefully down on the nearest daybed. Despite being as gentle as possible the Eagle Bearer groaned in pain before she drifted into a semi-conscious state.

Blood dripped down steadily from the lounger onto the ochre stone floor. Kyra almost slipped as she walked around the daybed, removing what was left of Kassandra’s armor with Praxos’ help. She still didn’t dare look at the lacerated shoulder and concentrated instead on removing Kassandra’s waist belt and boots. Her legs were badly scratched and deep lacerations were clearly visible, but she was glad they didn’t bleed as much as the wounds on her upper body.

As Savina returned she had to shoo away Orion who was about to lick at one of the blood pools. Kyra suggested that Praxos get cleaned up, he was drenched with Kassandra’s blood from carrying her on his horse the whole way. Savina took over the tall man’s task as he strode away.

 

 

When Praxos came back, clean and looking comparatively relaxed, Kyra and her assistant were mopping up the last vestiges of blood around the lounger; they had finished cleaning Kassandra’s body as well as they could and her wounds had been bandaged. The heavy bleeding on her shoulder seemed to have slowed down noticeably.

Praxos went over to Kassandra. She was neatly wrapped in blankets and he was about to inspect the bandaged shoulder when she stirred and moaned. Worrying that she could fall off the lounger he put his hand lightly on her good shoulder. As he did so Kassandra jolted up slightly and to the left where Praxos stood and threw up. He took a step back just in time and managed to evade the splash of vomit that spattered in front of his feet. Kassandra winced in pain before she laid back down, eyes wide open, staring blankly with a vacant expression at the ceiling; it seemed like she wasn’t really here.

“That’s a first.” Kyra pointed out surprised, wondering why Kassandra was throwing up. Usually; from her past experiences, people with such injuries would have been sleeping them off by now.

She mopped up the vomit and threw the cloth onto the big pile of bloody towels. Savina wrapped the used towels into a large blanket and went off to dispose of them.

Wearing a pensive expression, Praxos asked “What did her shoulder look like?”

“What do you mean?” Kyra asked quizzically, not understanding what he was going on about.

“Did you notice anything unusual while cleaning her up?” Praxos explained.

“No. I mean, I didn’t pay attention, there was so much blood and … the arrow,” it suddenly occurred to Kyra. “The arrow broke off, I think the head is still stuck inside.”

“Where did the arrow hit her?” He inquired as she joined him over on the misthios’ right side.

“I think right below her collar bone? It was hard to distinguish it from all the bite wounds.”

Praxos pushed the blanket down but stopped quickly; apologized and draped it back up again when he realized that Kassandra was naked beneath it. He pulled it just back up enough to cover her breasts, then carefully pulled at the bandages, easing them apart, searching for the arrow injury, “malaka,” he muttered as he saw the black skin and conspicuous veins around the entrance wound.

Kyra bowed her head down to take a closer look. “What is this?” She frowned.

“That bastard! The arrow was poisoned.” Praxos explained.

Kyra’s posture sagged. The gods must currently be very displeased. She felt fatigue clawing at her shoulders, dragging her whole body down. She just wanted to sit for a moment and try to gather herself. And maybe wash up, she thought, smelling the stale sweat from her armpits as she bent her head and leaned her arms on the edge of the lounger. “Can this day get any worse?” Kyra asked with an exasperated sigh.

Orion nudged his head between her body and the lounger and gave what sounded like a worried whine. Despite everything going through Kyra’s mind at the moment she managed to smile when the dog prodded his nose at Kassandra’s hand hanging over the edge.

“Let’s move her to the guest room on the first floor. I don’t want to risk any petitioner or stray Spartan catching sight on her. And then I need to wash and change into something fresh.”

 

 

Savina and Kyra took turns nursing Kassandra during the rest of the day and through the night. It was an exhausting and unrewarding task, holding the sick bucket or wiping up vomit when they hadn’t been fast enough.

They noticed a change in the misthios’ skin color shortly after they had moved her to the second floor, it went from her normal light tan to an abnormal sickly yellow. And from there on Kassandra’s condition became worse.

Her body swung at erratic intervals from heavy sweating and burning skin to suddenly cold and shivering. The rims of her eyes became a burning red and the pupils were irregular in size. It was an unsettling sight, especially since Kyra had always been fond of the intriguing shade of brown of the Eagle Bearer’s eyes.

The last noticeable change was the strange rattling noises in her chest and both women feared that Kassandra was about to suffocate right in front of their eyes when her breathing slowed down and stopped entirely. But as Kyra patted her cheek in barely contained panic, hissing “don’t you dare die now,” she resumed breathing again. This bizarre episode repeated several times during the night before it suddenly ceased and her breathing steadied.

 

It was almost morning, the sun hadn’t risen yet and the chirping cicadas handed over to the first early birds the job of nature’s musicians.

Neither Kyra nor Savina got the chance of any restful sleep, they each dozed off a couple times just to get woken up by Kassandra vomiting or shouting confused nonsense.

Both woman slouched in their chairs next to the bed where the Eagle Bearer, finally, had fallen asleep, exhausted. Savina hoped it would stay that way for a little while now. Her condition hadn’t become any better though, she was still mumbling unintelligibly now and then, and was sweating out the water they gave her to drink far too quickly. She had lost count of how many times they had run up and down with the refilled amphora. The vomiting has become less, but she wasn’t even sure if this was a good sign.

Savina rubbed her weary face and combed both hands through her blonde hair, yawning deeply, looking at the window when she saw the guttering light of torches outside. She stood up stretched, and walked over, looked out and peered down. Praxos had returned. He had gone on patrol after they had settled the misthios down in the bed, “Making sure that Spartan rat isn’t coming for a surprise visit.” he had said.

He was a good man, the most loyal man the Archon had, and exactly what she deserved. Not like the monster who had owned this house before.

Savina turned away from the window, Kyra had dozed off. The poor woman had done most of the nursing through the night.

“You’ve done enough already, Savina. Kassandra is my responsibility. Why don’t you bring us something to eat and some water while I look after her,” Kyra had said when she had offered the Archon the chance to get some rest.

She didn’t know much about what past connected them, besides the Eagle Bearer helping Kyra overthrow Podarkes. She wasn’t one to stick her nose into the private matters of other people. But working for the Archon she had caught some of the private talks between Kyra and Praxos or, like the day before, witnessed the meeting between Kyra and the Eagle Bearer. And it had been hard not to listen in even if she had covered her ears. She had made sure to take herself out of earshot when Kyra had demanded that Kassandra take her helmet off. She did hear the smack though.

And while she and Kyra had built up a friendship alongside their professional work, Kyra had always maintained some sort of distance. Not only to Savina, to everyone; except Praxos.

In the three years she had been working as the Archon’s assistant she had never seen Kyra with a potential lover. And while Kyra downright flourished, devoting herself with passion and love to the Silver Islands and their people; Savina has also caught her in moments of utter sadness, or crying in Praxos’ arms. Although the latter hadn’t occurred in a very long time.

Obviously Kyra cared for Kassandra. Maybe she cared even more than she was aware, or wanted to be aware of. Since Kyra had met with the misthios yesterday Savina had noticed a big shift in Kyra’s demeanor. Was she in love with Kassandra?

Savina stopped herself from thinking further. It wasn’t appropriate. She had no right to poke her nose into Kyra’s private life. The woman had been nothing but benevolent to her; since she had rescued her back on Delos and offered her the job of the Archon’s assistant. She might not even be alive without Kyra. Everything Savina had managed to build up for herself over the last three years wouldn’t have been possible without having met Kyra.The gods had finally been merciful to Savina after a life in absolute poverty. Now she had a man who loved her, a small but lovely home near the port and an extraordinary boss who could and would kick every bloke out of the front door if necessary. A woman with whom she could even share chummy evenings with laughter and a cup of wine.

She went over to Kyra, was about to wake her gently and suggest she get some decent sleep in a good bed while Savina watched over the Eagle Bearer, when Kassandra suddenly shouted “Nooo!”, and sat up, throwing the sheets aside and crawled out of bed on all fours.

Kyra jumped in her chair startled, jerked her arms in the air and hit Savina in the face with her left hand.

Both women hurried over to the naked Eagle Bearer; who looked like she was cradling an invisible body in her arms, Savina and Kyra tried to get her up from the floor and back into bed. It was a harder task than they could have imagined. Kassandra tried to wriggle out of their hold, it was difficult to get a good grip on her because she was slippery with sweat all over. And by the gods, she was heavy, Savina mentally complained. They didn’t want to hurt her either by accidentally touching her wounds. Kassandra was clawing at their arms and shouting, “get away from her,” and both women wondered where she suddenly got all the power from.

“We need to calm her down before her wounds-” Kyra began but then Kassandra slumped in their arms and fell unconscious again.

Together they managed to haul her back to bed and Savina suggested “Should we put on her underwear? If this happens again while men are around…” She didn’t need to explain further.

 

 

Kyra tucked the sheet carefully under her arms as Kassandra stirred slightly and mumbled, “forgive me.” She dipped the cloth in the water bucket, wrung it out a little and dabbed over Kassandra’s face, trying to cool her down.

“Her condition doesn’t get better, does it?” Savina stated more than asked, watching as Kyra gently dabbed her way over the Eagle Bearer’s cheeks. Kyra bit her lower lip so hard to keep it from trembling that it must be painful Savina thought. She nodded weakly at Savina’s statement without taking her eyes from Kassandra’s face.

“The gods haven't listened to our prayers yet. What shall we do?” Savina stood in front of the bed uncertainly, wringing her hands, noticing Kyra’s expression slowly changing from worried to hopeless.

“She doesn’t need any more prayers. She needs a healer.” Came the voice of Barnabas as he strode past Savina and greeted Kyra with a strong hug.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barnabas sudden and unexpected arrival will bring the help Kassandra needs but will it be enough to save her life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the hardest chapter yet to write and it has a different flow than the 5 chapters before who were quite actionary with a lot of outside sequences while this one plays almost only in one room. I still hope you can enjoy it, well more or less enjoy it due it is a pretty serious chapter that involves graphic description of injury and surgical procedure. I still tried to add a bit of lighter moments too just to keep the rollercoaster moving :)
> 
> And as always I have to thank my betareader Doc Hoffman for support and assistance even tho she can be quiet a pain in the ass but a lovely one :P

 

 

“Barnabas!” Kyra exclaimed, smiling in surprise, and hugging him back.

“It’s good to see you, lovely Kyra.” As he let go of Kyra and looked down at Kassandra, his face instantly shifted from a smile into a mask of concern. He sat down at the edge of the bed, carefully took her hand in both of his, it felt very clammy he thought, concerned and softly stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

“Praxos just told me on the way up that she was attacked by a lion?” Barnabas voiced in disbelief and then looked back at the tall man who had taken a stand next to Savina.

“Yes that too,“ Kyra began to clarify, “She also got hit with a poisoned arrow, the head is still stuck in her chest.”

“Poison? The weapon of a coward.” Barnabas spat in disgust, “Who did this to her?” He sounded like he would rip off the head of the one accountable.

“The Polemarch she arrived with,” Kyra let him know, “We cannot trust the Spartans at the moment.”

“I see. It was good foresight of Kassandra to have us follow them with a three days gap,” he said, looking up at Kyra who seemed about to ask a question. He answered before she could speak, “don’t worry, the Adrestia is well hidden between cliffs behind Delos.”

Barnabas’ attention snapped back to Kassandra as she let out a whimper and grimaced in pain. “How bad is it?” He inquired, shifting closer to Kassandra. He touched her forehead, it was burning and dripping with sweat. Her eyes were closed but he could see them darting wildly left and right. He was shocked at the jaundiced color of her skin.

“I hope I’m wrong but I think it’s getting worse. Her waking moments are becoming fewer and fewer.” Kyra admitted, sounding defeated.

“Where’s your healer? We need your best healer.” Barnabas raised his voice in concern, still stroking Kassandra’s hand caringly.

“A healer?” Savina exclaimed, clarifying the problem to Barnabas at his confused look, “these are the sacred Silver Islands of Apollon and Artemis. You won’t find a healer here.”

“Savina is right.” Kyra chimed in, “healers are not welcome on these islands. The Priests wouldn’t allow such blasphemy on sacred grounds. And I must sadly admit that even the Archon’s laws are not above the Priests who speak with the voice of the gods.”

“Gods help those who help themselves. I’m not going to stand here and watch my little cub die when the gods have put something that could help her right within our grasp.” there was a certain undertone of finality in the words Barnabas uttered through his grey beard.

Praxos cleared his throat and said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice “On the quiet, the mother of one of the hetaerae from Mikis Guesthouse is known to be a good healer, especially with poison treatment and antidotes.” He looked a little unsure as he spoke which made Barnabas inquire “Are they trustworthy?”

“I’m more than sure, yes.” He nodded confidently.

“What are you waiting for then, go get her here. Now!” Barnabas demanded more harshly than he intended.

Praxos looked a little shifty as he met Kyra’s eyes, they held the unspoken question “Why didn’t you reveal that sooner?”, but worried as she was about Kassandra’s condition she only said “Bring her here.”

Praxos nodded, turned around and set off.

 

Kyra’s mind drifted back to the days when Kassandra had arrived at Mykonos. They had been chatting casually after an eventful second day as they were walking back to the rebels’ hideout.

“It was the gods who sent you to me, I refuse to believe they’d send you here to die.” Kyra had said after the handsome misthios had made a joke.

“Sent me to _you_?!” The Eagle Bearer remarked suggestively, tilted her head slightly, an eyebrow raised and looked at her out of the corner of her eyes.

Kyra smiled shyly then tore her eyes away from the misthios’ fascinating eyes, keeping her gaze on the ground in front of her feet. “You know what I mean. So what do you think of our islands?”

Kassandra picked a piece of sorrel from the meadow and nibbled on it as she answered playfully, “I think I prefer Mykonos. They really don’t like you shedding blood on Delos.”

Kyra laughed heartily “The priests are so terrified of desecrating the sacred grounds of Apollo, women about to give birth are shipped over to Mykonos.”

Kassandra had raised both brows and her eyes went a little wide in disbelief. “What happens if they don’t make it to the shore?” she had asked half concerned, half curious.

“Boat babies.”

\----

 

 

Kyra strode to the window, as she tried to rub the tiredness from her eyes. As she looked out she saw that dawn had broken, there was a mixture of orange and pink in the sky. Just like that morning she woke next to Kassandra at the beach.

She turned her head back to the bed, she was so tired and for a short moment she entertained the idea of just laying down next to Kassandra. She tried to remember how it had felt, lying next to her warm body, stroking her strong arm-

“Kyra?”

Kyra looked up from the bed to Savina, who had waved a hand in front of her eyes. Kyra blinked “I’m sorry, I was… what is it?”

“You should lay down, get some sleep. Please.” Savina requested politely.

“No. I just had a nap before Kassandra craw- tried to get up. But you should try and get some decent sleep. Please, you have done more than I should have asked of you.”

Barnabas didn’t register the women’s conversation. His only concern was Kassandra, he felt so impotent watching her fighting for her life. She must be in agonizing pain with that poison running havok in her body, and the big bitewound on her shoulder. By the gods she must have been terrified when that beast mauled her and he hadn’t been there to help, to protect her.

She looked so fragile.

Seeing her in this miserable state, sweating, mumbling something senseless, squirming in pain; it was in such stark contrast to the order shouting, heartily laughing woman who would drunkenly stumble over her own feet just to boast in front of some pretty girls by flexing her muscles.

 

 

“My poor little girl, I told you to be careful.” He teared up but quickly wiped the tears away and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He stroked her head, combing his fingers through her damp hair while his right hand still held hers. Kassandra’s eyelids fluttered open, eyes searching and when she saw Barnabas she smiled weakly before she closed her eyes and drifted away again.

 

 

 

Barnabas’ nervous energy was taking over the whole room as he paced back and forth like a caged lion. “Where in hades is Praxos?”

“He will be here soon.” Kyra said. She had resumed nursing Kassandra, carefully dabbing away the sweat at her head and neck, over and over again.

He paced back, rubbing his grey beard. “How far away is this guesthouse?”

“Not that far. But it’s early morning. Everyone is still sleeping.” Kyra tried to soothe his nerves. It would also help to calm her own nerves if he would stop pacing, she thought.

He paced back and forth, hands on his hips, “if he doesn’t show up quickly I’ll go and bring them here myself.”

“Barnabas.” Kyra tried once more. He wasn’t really listening and she was about to lose her composure.

Pacing back again, “I should have gone with him.”

“Sit! Down!” Kyra suddenly exploded.

The old man froze, held up his hands in surrender upon seeing the unnerving glare directed at him. He slumped down in the vacant chair, crossing his arms, looked at his own crossed feet.

Kyra’s shout had woken the dozing Savina. Kyra had immediately apologized and bid her once more to take some proper rest but the blonde woman declined the offer and decided to head down to the kitchen to prepare some refreshments.

Savina jumped as she opened the door to step out into the Atrium, she had almost bumped into Praxos, about to open the door from the other side.

Barnabas got up from his chair as the tall man entered followed by an elderly woman, clearly the healer and... and _malaka!_

Savina turned back into the room as Praxos entered and the women followed him in. What had Praxos said before he had gone to collect the healer? The mother of a hetaera is a healer? So the younger woman was the healer’s daughter, the hetaera- Savina had to look twice and rub her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating from fatigue, the hetaera looked just like Kyra.

Kyra felt a weight lifting off her shoulders as Praxos led the healer in. Kyra hadn’t seen a healer before, she had only heard of them. Most descriptions were clearly exaggerated she knew that. People tended to go overboard with certain aspects when it came to strange occurrences and things they weren’t able to comprehend, and they wouldn’t or couldn’t adjust to new circumstances.

The healer looked like an ordinary woman, long, grey hair held back by a hair hoop and ending in a low ponytail. A simple black peplos without any fancy ornateness, no jewellery either. One thing was amiss though, shouldn’t she have brought some tools with her. Anything? A tool pouch? Her hands were empty.

 

The old woman followed Praxos in, “Hurry up now cuddly bear, show me your wounded friend. I hope she’s not already dead. I will be very upset with you if you tossed me out of my cozy, warm bed for nothing at this unholy hour. I’m an old woman. Unlike my daughter I need my beauty rest.” She nattered incessantly gently shoving Praxos aside after he’d gestured to the bed.

“Now aren’t you a sight to behold.” She said as she stopped in front of the bed, looking down at Kassandra, arms akimbo. Then her eyes met with Kyra’s and she made a slight polite bow, “you too, Archon. My name is Rhea and I’ll try my best to save the life of this _wounded friend,_ that your cuddly bear somehow forgot to mention is the Eagle Bearer.” She turned to glance at Praxos, giving him a raised brow and a huff.

“Kassandra?!” An unknown female voice behind Rhea exclaimed in concern. Kyra’s ears perked up, her eyes first caught sight of a big pouch, that the owner of the unknown voice carelessly let fall next to Rhea’s feet.

The wet cloth slipped from Kyra’s hand as the voice became a face. The face of a middle aged woman that looked like an older version of Kyra.

Utter silence seized the room. Everyone’s eyes were shifting from Kyra to Nike, except for Rhea’s, clearly avoiding the drama that was about to take place.

“What have you done to her?” Nike hissed gloomily in Kyra’s direction as she came closer.

“Excuse me!?” Kyra said scandalized, she was close to losing her temper with this… _this_ _whore!_

Nike bent down, didn’t even glance at Kyra and attempted to take Kassandra’s right hand into hers, but Kyra realized what Nike was about to do and quickly put her own hand over Kassandra’s. This reaction prompted Nike to look at Kyra and Kyra’s look very clearly said, _back off!_

Kyra’s mind was all over the place. How did this woman look so much like her? How did she know Kassandra? Well, there was probably only one conclusion to draw, given Nike’s job. But why should a hetaera care so much for her? And why did Kyra suddenly care why Nike cared. Her eyes became mere slits, shooting daggers at Nike. And Nike shot right back.

“Are you two quite done darting venomous scowls at each other? Because we have a life to save. Otherwise there won’t be much left for the two of you to fight over. Nike! I need your help.” Rhea interrupted their staring contest as she shoved herself between them, claiming the spot to start her inspection of Kassandra’s wounds after drawing the blanket down to her feet.

“Nike, my tools.” Rhea ordered her daughter abstractedly, as she took a closer look at Kassandra’s eyes, sliding them open with her thumb and finger. “Not good,” she quietly mumbled to herself after a short length of inspection.

Everyone in the room had gathered around the bed, in expectation of hearing good news from the healer. “Would someone care to enlighten me as to what happened or do I have to worm it out of you bit by bit.” She pressed for information as she opened her pouch, rummaging, taking out a wrapped toolbag, unrolling it next to where she stood on the edge of the bed.

Kyra hadn't made any attempt to inform Rhea, Praxos observed, feeling guilty. She still seemed confused about Nike. He decided to chime in and told Rhea about the fall, the poisoned arrow and the lion attack.

Rhea started removing the bandages around Kassandra’s legs with her spring-scissor as she spoke up. “You might want to prepare for a mess; this could get a little nasty now because I don’t know how much the bleeding has stopped. Bring some blankets,” Rhea looked up and down the whole length of Kassandra’s body, “bring a lot.”

Rhea stood up straight, looked around the room, took a short glance at the window, the only window the room had. “I need more light. You there,” she looked at Savina “you look like you know your way around here, bring more oil lamps, lighten up the room for my old eyes, dear child.”

Savina nodded willingly, turned around on her heels as Barnabas joined her, offering his help.

“Blankets, Archon?” Rhea’s polite demand finally shook Kyra out of her brooding.

The passive atmosphere that had hung over the room like a gloomy cloud was thrust aside. Savina and Barnabas were busying themselves lighting lamps, and Kyra brought a pile of fresh blankets. Whilst Rhea was busy unwrapping bandages, Nike gathered up the soiled ones, collecting them in a bucket before taking them down to burn them.

Kyra provided the hot water that Rhea ordered and watched as mother and daughter began to clean Kassandra’s body thoroughly. With everything prepared, Rhea started her up close inspection, “now let’s take a proper look at what causes the Eagle Bearer so much trouble.”

She started with the legs “Hmm, good, good. Good work, the bleeding has stopped already. Some deep cuts here and there but they have been treated almost professionally, someone knows their way with cuts I see. Old knowledge from the rebels’ time I guess.” Rhea praised but didn’t look up, instead she ordered, “daughter, take the lady’s-mantle mixture and then put it on these glorious legs and wrap them up neatly.”

Rhea moved her inspection up Kassandra’s body and suddenly everyone moved closer to the bed but kept enough distance to let Nike do her work on Kassandra’s legs unhindered.

The healer’s finger carefully touched and prodded at the arrow’s entry wound which made Kassandra flinch abruptly. “Don’t be like that! You are expected to perform like a goddess, in case you forgot.”

“Mater!” Nike chided under her breath as she rubbed the herb lotion into Kassandra’s cuts, not daring to look up, but she was sure she felt Kyra’s angry glare.

Kassandra started babbling nonsense again, switching between whispering and yelling. Rhea raised her eyebrows but didn’t take it personally when some very vulgar insults escaped the misthios’ lips.

“How long has she been in this delirious state already?” inquired the old woman of Kyra, who stood with her arms crossed next to her.

Kyra and Savina exchanged looks, neither of them seemed to be sure as they recounted aloud the stages of the last twelve hours. “In any event not more than ten hours.” Kyra told Rhea, hoping this might be good news. But the healer’s expression suggested otherwise.

The old woman bent down again over Kassandra, touching, checking the temperature on her forehead, cheek, neck, chest. Leaned her ear close to Kassandra’s mouth listening to her breathing sounds. Then bent back up, “has she been throwing up and if yes how often?”

“She has been, a lot, soon after she got shot and it went on for half the night.” Kyra informed then added, “she’d also stopped breathing a few times until we shook her but it stopped happening some time ago.” She ended with a little relief in her voice, for she thought this was a sign that the worst was over.

Rhea looked up, sharply, turned to everyone and suddenly all the playfulness that had laid underneath her voice before was gone. “I’m not going to put lipstick on the pig. You have to prepare for the worst, if the poison is already interfering with her breathing; this probably means that this is a highly toxic snake poison, I haven’t seen many people recover from it at this stage.”

Kyra crossed her arms again, bit down on her left lower lip upon hearing this, her eyes suddenly became wet and she quickly blinked away the upcoming tears; when Rhea noticed, she laid a comforting hand on her shoulder “But she’s a strong lass, no?” Kyra jerked slightly at the unexpected touch, she had managed to suppress her tears but wasn’t sure for how much longer. She nodded at Rhea giving her a weak smile but then turned away, met Praxos’ worried glance and moved to the window. The sun had finally fully set.

Rhea looked around trying to catch everyone’s concerned eyes and said. “We have to detox her body and need to get that arrowhead out. But first let me take a quick look at that bitewound and get that bandaged up again.”

Barnabas had moved considerably closer to Kassandra while Rhea had explained the seriousness of the poison issue. Tears were running down his face freely but he looked composed - prepared even for the worst it seemed.

“It looks like she means a lot to you, are you her father?” Rhea addressed Barnabas empathetically.

“No, I’m not but she is like a daughter to me.” He took a deep breath, wiped the tears from his cheeks and glanced down at Kassandra, the worry in his good eye spread over his whole face. “I’d give my only eye to see her well and smiling again.”

“Would you like to help me turn her around a little so I can clean and patch up that wound?”

Barnabas nodded, followed Rhea’s instructions. Taking a sitting position behind Kassandra, lifting her upper body to rest against his body so that Rhea had an all around access to the shoulder. Barnabas cradled Kassandra’s head in a light hug, preventing it from lolling. He pressed light kisses on top of her head and whispered soothing words when she whimpered from the pain of Rhea’s treatment.

A quick inspection told her that this wound had also been taken care of quite professionally, just like the legs had, at least regarding the stopping of bleeding, but it needed a thorough cleaning to prevent infection. The healer used a saline wash method to clear out debris and dirt from the multiple bite wounds without even touching the wound. Then soaked the bandages with lady’s mantle infusion and patched Kassandra up.

 

“There, as good as new.” She said, satisfied with how good the shoulder looked, “aside from the fact that a lion had chewed on it.” She thanked Barnabas for his help and then washed her hands thoroughly. Rhea went to her pouch, took out a mortar and pestle and a little bag which she opened, and poured some of the contents into the mortar then handed it over to Nike, who knew exactly what to do without getting any instructions from her mother.

Evidently curious Barnabas went over to Nike; who just poured a little bit of fresh water and honey into the mortar as he politely inquired about the intended use of her preparation.

While Nike prepared a liquid made from charcoal and herbs she enlightened Barnabas about the extensive effects of it. He made a mental note to acquire enough of the ingredients the next time he had the chance to visit a market place. It was quite a simple recipe and even more simple to use, you just had to drink it. “It tastes like piss and ashes though.” Nike said behind her hand, she knew her mother didn’t approve of giving this magical drug bad names.

“You can mix it with some watered wine if piss and ashes isn’t your taste,” Rhea remarked drily without taking her eyes from her outspread toolbag; she was sitting on the top end of the bed next to Kassandra, and was inspecting a few knives of different sizes and lengths before placing them and a small crystalline flask neatly on the cabinet next to her.

Nike walked over to the opposite side of the bed, about to kneel down on the mattress to administer the detox medicine to Kassandra when she spotted Kyra standing at the window. Kyra had withdrawn herself quickly after her mother revealed the chance of Kassandra surviving were not all that high. The young woman staring out the window looked… broken.

And all of a sudden Nike felt terrible for accusing the Archon, for having even thought about the possibility that Kyra could be so cruel as to hurt Kassandra in such a way.

It had been the shock of the moment for Nike when she realized that it had been Kassandra lying in that bed. And the memory of what Kassandra had told her about Kyra. How deeply she felt for her, how cold and dismissive Kyra had been towards her and the literal sting in her heart when Kyra had slapped her. But Kyra’s protective or more precisely, possessive behaviour over Kassandra when Nike wanted to get hold of the Eagle Bearer’s hand had spoken volumes.

Nike knelt over Kassandra and waited for her mother’s help, opening Kassandra’s mouth so she could carefully, bit by bit dispense the dark greyish potion.

Rhea started explaining the procedure and gave further instructions as she held Kassandra’s mouth open, Kyra joined Savina, Praxos and Barnabas at the end of the bed.

“This is to detox her, she has to drink it every hour. One cup per hour, she can have more if she wants but not more than three. For the next two days. Just to make sure that all the poison is washed out. She’ll pee, a lot, so make sure you have a couple of pots ready. Let her pee from the bed, drag her legs off it, pot on the floor, have her arms around your shoulders. She’ll need your help because this mixture will keep her in a kind of drowsy state. The more rest the better. Don’t give her solid food yet, just this. Two days.”

It was quite visible to everyone that Kassandra didn’t approve of the taste of piss and ashes, she grimaced frequently and had tried to move her head away from the cup but Nike and Rhea stayed insistent until the cup was empty.

Rhea stood back up, grabbed the crystalline flask from the cabinet, “if she’s unconscious she won’t be able to drink or swallow, you’ll realize quickly that she’s unconscious if she’s coughing up right away when you try to give her the potion.” then she held the flask up before putting it into Savina’s hand, “to get her out of that state you’ll just put that open flask under her nose, beware she’ll likely jolt up like someone just slapped her ass.”

All three, Kyra, Barnabas and Savina looked curiously at the flask in Savina’s hand. The blonde woman was about to open it when she stopped and looked back up to Rhea, asking for permission.

“Go on, you can smell it. It will make you awake like a bat in the night.” Rhea assured.

The idea of being wide-awake sounded tempting, Savina unplugged the flask and held it up under her nose, Barnabas and Kyra leaned their head in a little too when Savina carefully took a curious sniff.

“Ugh.” She jerked her head to the side and held the flask at arms length as she grimaced in disgust, her eyes teared up, her nose burned and itched and she quickly massaged it between thumb and finger hoping to stop the irritation. “Gross.” She gagged.

“Ah, did I forget to mention it smells like the child of piss and decay?” Rhea snickered silently, Nike snickered aloud upon seeing Savina’s disgusted face while Barnabas and Kyra gave a wide berth to Savina’s outstretched hand. But they both had a smile of glee on their face for a short moment.

Rhea smiled, it was good to see them sharing a moment of drollery then she looked around and asked, “where’s my cuddly bear?”

“Praxos? He went down to bring up some pots.” Kyra said just as Praxos reentered and placed the crate full of pots next to the bed. Rhea gave Praxos’ beefy arms an approving look as he straightened up again, blushing slightly upon realizing his ogling admirer.

Rhea clapped her hands together “Alright, let’s get that arrowhead out of her.” The healer turned around to her daughter who had, in the meantime, prepared another potion, a much smaller amount than the detox brew before. Nike carefully handed it to her mother as she went straight up to Kassandra, mixed the small potion with a good sip of water, tilted Kassandra’s head back making her automatically open her mouth “A trick to make it easier for the liquid to go down,” Rhea explained to her daughter, then poured the potion into Kassandra’s mouth and immediately dropped the cup out of hand to close the misthios’ mouth, kept her head tilted and held her still as Kassandra tried to spit it out “Naahahah, keep it. You’ll thank me soon.”

“What is this for?” Barnabas asked concerned, with an expression of disapproval upon watching how roughly she had to handle Kassandra at that moment.

“I gave her some poppy juice, it will ease the pain. She’s going to have to endure a lot of it because I’ll have to cut deep to get the arrowhead out.”

“Now,” she said while rubbing her hands with some pungent smelling oil, “I need a strong man who can keep her down. You there! Big one!” Rhea nodded at Praxos, “The rest of you, get out! It doesn’t help me having all the nervous people pacing around behind me.”

 

Nike closed the door after Kyra, Barnabas and Savina had left the room and returned to the bed where her mother instructed Praxos on how to have a secure hold on Kassandra.

“Make sure she can’t slip out of your grasp. But don’t strangle her in your effort, eh?”

“But didn’t you just sedate her?” Praxos inquired, a little confused.

Grey knitted brows and squinted eyes glared admonishing looks at Praxos. “Don’t question me, my Big. I have to cut very deep, maybe even right to the bone to get the head out. This is very painful even when sedated. Make sure you are prepared, she will thrash around and I can’t have that, she needs to be still or I’ll do more damage than good.”

Holding up what looked like a frighteningly large and very spiky sewing needle to Praxos, Rhea announced “Now let’s test if the poppy juice is already doing its job.” And then went to stab slightly into the soft flesh of one of Kassandra’s inner thighs and explained. “This is one of the most sensitive parts of our body and therefore a good place to test.”

There was no reaction forthcoming from Kassandra upon the prick test and Rhea replaced the needle in her hand with a short broadsided knife. Then told Praxos and Nike to get in position.

Praxos nodded, took a seat behind Kassandra, pressed her back against his body and put his broad arms around Kassandra’s arms and torso, tying her up. Rhea patted his right biceps encouragingly after she had corrected the position of his arms around Kassandra.

Nike climbed on the bed too, straddling Kassandra’s thighs, securing her lower body.

“Allright.” Rhea checked with both her helpers that they were ready, by seeking eye contact and waiting for the affirmative nod before she knelt over Kassandra, placing her left hand flat, thumb outstretched next to the entry wound. “Be strong now my child.” She said to Kassandra and made the first cut.

After a brief resistance, the tip of the knife slid easily through the skin and Rhea steadily pushed the blade into Kassandra's flesh. The body under Rhea jerked and pushed up and a cry of pain broke loose from Kassandra's throat.

Rhea almost lost her balance, her hand slipped off the knife as Kassandra's body reared up beneath her, she pushed the body back down as best she could and barked, “Hold her still.”

“I’m trying. She’s strong.” Praxos snapped back, bewildered.

“Do you only look stronger than her or what do you have your muscles for?” Rhea huffed as she waited for Praxos to get a better hold of Kassandra. The healer eased down over the misthios upper body and took a deep breath, collecting herself and after the moment of shock faded away she took hold of the knife handle again. She inquired if Nike was okay, "Are you all right, daughter?" And saw Nike nod as she turned briefly back to her.

Kassandra was whining, and blood trickled down from the cut where the knife still stuck in her chest.

Rhea washed the blood off with a cloth before thrusting the edge deeper into Kassandra's body. She had to move carefully because she didn’t know exactly where and how much of the broken arrow shaft was still connected to the head.

Kassandra screamed again, but this time Praxos could keep her under control and still while Rhea continued to bore the knife further. When she sensed resistance, she said, "I think I found it."

She leaned over to the cabinet and grabbed a flat, broad-sided tool with her free hand, inserting it into the cut next to the knife and then gently removed the knife, then let go of the tool and it pushed the incision apart.

Kassandra kept moaning during this procedure but her physical resistance had eased significantly, Praxos registered relieved.

The gaping opening revealed the broken end of the arrowhead. "Got you!" whistled Rhea, pleased. "If the head isn’t trapped in bone, it can be safely pulled free," she explained, while inserting forceps in the opening. "One more time big girl, maybe two than you'll be released from agony," she told Kassandra who groaned severely as the forceps came into contact with the shaft.

The healer carefully twirled it to determine if the head was lodged in bone. And once more the misthios squirmed and groaned in pain as the broken arrow moved between her flesh and muscles. Praxos looked up at Rhea from the wound and saw relief in her face. "Made it!" breathed the old woman.

Rhea made sure she had a tight grip around the shaft and then carefully pulled the head out. “There you go!”

One last cry of pain from Kassandra as the arrow, and quickly afterwards the spreading tool, was removed. Rhea rubbed some of the detox and antiseptic mixture into the wound before she patched her up.

 

 

The Archon had to downright push Savina out of the leader’s house until the blonde woman agreed to go home. Kyra once again warmly thanked her for the over-generous help and told her in a quite demanding tone to take the day off. Before she went back in she also instructed the guards to look out for any approaching Spartans and to inform her promptly if that might be the case.

She prepared a tray with wine, fried fish and other small refreshments from the day before from the kitchen, before she went back upstairs and also instructed the just arrived employees to take the day off. Although Kyra knew that her staff were loyal, she didn’t want to risk that Linos might somehow find out that Kassandra was still alive.

Kyra put down the amphora and food on the nearby table and filled two cups with wine while Barnabas was pacing like a concerned father. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sudden outcry of twisted pain, followed by huffing and groaning that echoed through the door.

Kyra wanted to put her hands over her ears but instead made her way further away from the door, she stepped out onto the balcony. She had heard many men and women cry in pain during her past life when they had been patched up, but knowing that this was Kassandra and she wasn’t able to help ease the pain she was enduring was killing her, another outcry rang through the adjoining room … it was all her fault.

All this wouldn’t had happened if she hadn’t been such a cold bitch towards Kassandra. Maybe then she would had told her that she had her suspicions about Linos. Maybe then Kassandra would have been prepared when he had shot that poisoned arrow. And Kassandra wouldn’t have plunged down into the fangs of the lion.

All the same, none of this would have ever happened in the first place had Kassandra knocked Thaletas out instead of slicing his throat.

She closed her eyes and gripped the balcony railing so hard her knuckles went white when Kassandra‘s haunting panting and grunting reached her ears.

“Don’t worry. She’ll get through.” Barnabas tried to lift her spirit but sounded not very convincing, he noticed himself.

Kyra didn’t say anything, eyes squeezed shut, head low, chewing on her lower lip. He tried again, just tried to talk so Kyra didn’t have to hear Kassandra’s agonizing outcries. “She’s a half goddess after all. She must be, who else could wield a broken spear with such power? She’s an unstoppable force of divine pow-.”

“Gods don’t bleed.”

“God’s don’t bleed Barnabas and I have mopped up so much of her blood yesterday it would have fit in two Eagle Bearing goddesses.” Kyra said, finally opening her eyes, removing one hand from the railing, turning her upper body to him.

“She is no goddess. She’s raw power that kills and destroys lives.” Kyra’s voice was at the point of breaking.

Barnabas was quick on the uptake, Kyra was talking about Thaletas and herself. He didn’t know if and what Kassandra had told her since she arrived at Mykonos and he didn’t want to take anyone's side. “She has suffered a great deal about her action and the love she still feels for you-”.

Kyra pointed angrily at the door, “But she is fucking that hetaera nonetheless?” Kyra made a flippant pfffh sound with her lips.

Barnabas was about to speak up but Kyra stopped him with a wave of her hand, “she and I, we both made a terrible mistake that ended with the unnecessary death of a good man.”

“I dare have no doubt about this, it is important, to learn from mistakes and to be able to forgive, others and yourself.” Barnabas replied.

 _“Forgiveness”_ Kyra thought and her mind drifted away.

 

 

“So, what will you do once Podarkes is dead and the rebellion is won?” Kassandra was playing with a stick, poking at the embers on the rim of the fire as she crouched down.

Hugging her knees, Kyra peered pensively into the bonfire, hoping the dancing flames would whisper an answer. But they stayed silent. “The sad truth is I have no idea. For as long as I can remember, every day has been a struggle. To live, to laugh … Vengeance has all but consumed me,” she realised and looked at the palms of her hands.

Out of the corner of her eye Kyra saw Kassandra throwing the stick into the fire, shuffling closer to her, she knelt down before her and took Kyra’s hands in hers. The misthios looked at her with worried eyes and gave a sympathetic smile. “Revenge can be a good incentive, but it should never be the goal.”

Kyra inclined her neck, brows furrowed, “how do you mean?”

Kassandra let go of her hands and sat down on her right. “My father. I wanted to kill him, I was so close to it but then ... I don’t know if Podarkes regrets what he did to your mother and to you. But in the eyes of the man who once was like a father to me, I saw regret, shame even. I had the chance to talk to him. Whether you get the chance or even want to I don’t know. But I stood there before him and I realized that if I kill him now, it would not change what happened to me and what I feel. It would only do one thing, I would lose my incentive to continue living and laughing and fighting for what’s important to me.”

Kyra was thinking over the misthios’ words for a while, then looked down at the ground between them and started playing with a small patch of grass, picking out the tiny green blades.

“Those are wise words…” she didn’t finish the sentence, but the way she voiced it, it sounded like there was a _but_.

“For a misthios?” Kassandra finished the sentence.

“You are more than a misthios.” Kyra looked back up and was momentarily lost in those expressive eyes gazing at her. “You are hope.”

\---

 

“I wish I could. I’m not happy about my trait of being resentful. But she could have just knocked him out. Do you not understand?!”

“I’m not in the position to judge. This is between Kassandra and you. Only the two of you can sort this out, forgive and hopefully move on. If you haven’t talked yet already, you two need to talk later.”

“I think you can imagine that I didn’t welcome her with open arms when she suddenly sat at my desk with her dirty boots propped up, smirking like an arrogant Spartan, after she disappeared three years ago without any explanation or apology.

“You told her to leave and never come back.” Barnabas reminded her carefully.

“And despite the fact that I said so she still came back.” Kyra’s voice raised as she made an angry motion through the air with her hand.

“In her defense, it wasn’t her decision-”

“I don’t care!” Kyra finally shouted, “and I don’t want to talk about the past anymore Barnabas. I’m tired, exhausted.” Kyra admitted, sighed and rubbed her face, wearily. Upon hearing his mistress’ distraught voice Orion had jumped up from his sleeping place and took a guarding position in front of her legs.

Barnabas wrinkled face became more creased, his brows furrowing in concern. He combed both hands through his grey beard before he tried to calm her down, “I think it would do you good to take-”

“And don’t tell me to take a rest because I can’t sleep as long as I don’t know if this goon of a Spartan is going to survive the next days and I have to hide her from someone who wants her dead for whatever reason.”

He clearly understood why Kassandra was so smitten by Kyra’s fiery nature but, by the gods, will this woman ever let him finish one sentence? “Okay.” Barnabas gently said, holding his hands up, signaling Kyra that he’d leave her alone. He adjusted his belt as he walked back into the room.

With his big grey head Orion nudged Kyra’s leg, inquiring with a whimper if everything was alright. She knelt down and suddenly seemed to relax as she stroked and rubbed his head, soothing his worries away by telling him that all was good. As she got to her feet and followed Barnabas inside she apologized, “I’m sorry Barnabas. I’m… this is all so exhausting. Please sit, eat and drink.”

“No please, don’t apologize Kyra. I can only imagine what you are going through at the moment. It would be a pleasure if you’d join me, a wine is only half as good without a woman and a conversation beside it.

Barnabas lifted the cup to his lips while Kyra popped an olive into her mouth before taking a sip from her own cup. Although she hoped Kassandra's torture was over, she still felt tense, expecting to hear another howl from Kassandra at any moment. She wasn’t sure if she could eat and drink while Kassandra had to endure torture in the room next door.

Suddenly the door opened and Rhea stepped out, drying her hands with a towel. Barnabas and Kyra tried to read the healer’s face for any signs of a good outcome. She looked weary and satisfied? Praxos had exited the room too now, closed the door behind him and excused himself. He had blood on his arms and wanted to clean up.

“The bastard arrowhead is out.” Announced Rhea triumphantly, holding the evidence up as she joined them at the table and saw how both their demeanors relaxed visibly. “Her will to survive is strong. Let’s hope and pray that the Eagle Bearer will win the fight against the poison.”

“Can I see her?” Barnabas inquired, putting his half full cup down, visibly worried and not thirsty at all anymore. He already made an attempt at walking towards the room but Rhea put a gentle hand on his chest and halted him.

“Soon, she needs rest now. Nike is looking after her until we leave.” Rhea picked Barnabas’ abandoned cup up and took a long sip, smacking her lips several times, enjoying the taste, “that’s a very good wine, Archon. I might consider my payment in this instead of drachmae.”

“I will pay you in whatever you ask for.” Kyra accommodated then pointed a warning finger and a glare towards Orion as he tried to steal some fish from the table.

“Hmm, if that's so then I'll take Praxos right away.” Rhea purred.

Kyra choked on her wine, but composed herself again within a moment, smirked, “Allow me to correct myself. I will pay you in whatever you ask, so long as whatever you ask is not made out of Praxos.”

The old woman sighed resigned, “in that case I’ll take the wine, maybe you can send Praxos to deliver it?” She held the cup out to Barnabas, a silent gesture asking for a refill with which he complied politely. Rhea took another long sip before setting the cup down and then helped herself to some of the various foods provided.

Licking the fingers of her left hand clean she fed Orion some fish with her free hand while Kyra wasn’t looking but Orion’s noisy smacking gave it away and Kyra turned around, not saying anything but eyeing both disapprovingly. Though only Orion ducked his head guiltily. “Strict mother you have there, son.” Rhea pitied the dog, Orion gave an affirmative woof.

Rhea began instructing Barnabas and Kyra, “now listen carefully you two beauties, this is important. These wounds need to be treated daily with the herb mixture, but before you put that and fresh bandages on make sure to let some fresh air on them, wounds heal faster if they can breath.” she turned to the door behind her where Nike exited, her mother’s pouch in hand, about to join them.

Then Rhea turned back to her two listeners, seeing Kyra giving Nike a sideglance but no animosity visible she went on with her instructions.

“I’ll leave you the necessary ingredients for the detox potion and the healing mixture, it should be enough for the next two days. You can get all the ingredients in the marketplace but don’t hesitate to call for Nike or me if you need help or are unsure about anything.”

She rummaged through her pouch, that Nike had put down on the table, and took out several smaller pouches and placed them neatly next to each other. Then she went back and rummaged again, furrowing her brows, grumpily, “where have I left the poppy juice?” and patted herself despite not having any pouches on her belt.

“Oh,” Nike gasped and apologized to her mother as she took a small flask out of her belt pouch and handed it over.

“Thank you, child.” Rhea said and held the flask in front of her. “This! Is the good stuff! Good stuff but strong stuff. If our sleeping beauty is in much pain you mix three drops of poppy juice into her cup of water. But be careful, three drops and no more and only every six hours unless you want to send her to Hades.” That said she placed the flask into Barnabas’ hands, held them in hers for a short moment, smiling reassuringly at him and said, “now go and look after your child. She’ll need all the care and love to get well again.”

 

The Archon and the dutiful Orion accompanied Rhea and Nike out of the leader’s house. Kyra had cringed inwardly but politely listened and nodded while Rhea had been telling quite explicit about tales of her youthful exploits. Nike on the other hand tried hard to hide her second-hand embarrassment by inspecting the fabric of her mother’s tool-bag with eager interest, muttering an embarrassed “Mater!” at the mention of the story that involved a snake and a man’s one eyed snake.

Upon arriving in the forecourt Kyra couldn’t hold her curiosity in any longer, “how come I've never heard of you before?” She looked quite interestedly towards Rhea, concentrating on her directly and not looking to Nike. She wanted to make sure she wasn’t showing how bothered she was at having a lookalike that furthermore was a hetaera. “How does a healer manage to heal for such a long time on Mykonos without the priests getting wind of it?”

The old woman turned to the Archon, heaved a sigh and looked at her own feet with rueful eyes “Even if I don’t like to admit it. I stood under Podarkes protection. I surely don’t have to tell you that rejecting his will was a death sentence.” She looked up at Kyra upon speaking the last sentence.

“His protection?” The Archon inquired although she could already imagine that Podarkes knew how to take advantage of a healer.

“I saved his life when he was a very young man. I was of valuable use to him. My daughter and I lived the largest part of Nike’s life on Delos, we only came back to Mykonos after a certain someone had mopped up the floor with that bastard.”

Kyra glimpsed at Nike with what seemed a look of hundred questions on her mind, then looked back to Rhea.

“I cannot thank _both_ of you enough for your help.“ The Archon said upon handing a heavy pouch full of drachmae over to the healer. And added “The wine will be delivered later today, will ten amphorae be adequate?” Kyra inquired as she watched Rhea weighing the heaviness of the coin pouch in her hand making an impressed and very satisfied expression.

“Ten amphorae? Only if Praxos delivers them, otherwise twenty. My daughter isn’t the only one in the family who knows how to make other people's muscles play.” Rhea winked before Nike chided her once more “Mater!” She gently took her mother by her arm and lead her down the last stairs, leaving the estate.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Kassandra languishes on her sick bed, Kyra reflects on the past and Savina deals with an unwelcome visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of Kyra introspection in this chapter. While we have learned a lot about Kassandra in the past chapters it is time to give you all an insight into Kyra's emotions, worries and thoughts.
> 
> Doc Hoffman and me had a latenight or rather early morning plotting session with Savina and gave her a moment to shine in this chapter. The Archon's assistant deserves a raise after this chapter. The more of you people enjoyed and agree of Savina's heroic act the higher her raise will be ;)

Kyra watched after them for a while as they walked along the sloping path and then disappeared out of sight around the curve, behind the stable.

 _Nike._ Kyra was chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip, how was it possible that someone else could have such a similarity with another person? Parents and their children could have striking similarities or siblings but ... Kyra gasped.

No.

That was impossible.

Did Podarkes sire Nike with Rhea? Or was Rhea even Kyra's birth mother? But neither Rhea nor Podarkes showed similarities with her.

It was just Nike and her.

Only Nike and her.

Was Nike her half sister? Kyra rolled her eyes, shaking her head to banish the abstract thoughts from her mind.

Kyra loved the thought that she looked like her mother. Philippa, Praxos’ sister, had often said, _"You'll look as pretty as your mother when you’re grown up,"_ while she had combed her hair. Of course, a little girl liked to hear that and believed without questioning it. She had only meant well, Philippa had wanted to comfort her with that, she hadn’t known Dianthe at all.

Kyra couldn’t remember her mother's face for a long time. Mostly the memories contained screams and blood when she tried to remember. It was better to lock the past away and open the door to the here and now; to focus on the welfare of the Silver Islands. She had nothing left from the past except Praxos. He was at her side since she could remember. Big strong brothe- No. Protector.

She couldn’t allow herself to feel too close to him, everything she had ever loved was violently snatched away from her, over and again.

She lived with the fear that it was only a matter of time before the gods took him from her too.  
It was better to keep her distance, from everyone.  
To never have to endure that pain again. And if she had to be alone for the rest of her life, then it was better that way. She had to make that decision after the gods had sent Kassandra to her, only to have her leave Kyra behind with nothing but pain.

 

Kassandra. The mighty Eagle Bearer. Demi-goddess. Butcher of Podarkes the Cruel.

Arrogant and pretentious yet irresistibly desirable. A flame so hot that you know you will burn yourself and still you reach out to her.

Kassandra. The unstoppable force that destroys everything in her path. A monster. Destroyer of life.

 

Praxos had warned her and yet she succumbed to the temptation.

She had asked the gods for help to free the Silver Islands and had paid a high price for it.

 

Orion woofed softly and pressed his shoulder against Kyra's thigh, nudging her out of her gloomy thoughts, then looked up at her and woofed once more.

"Time for your breakfast?" Kyra smiled and stroked his head, then started walking back to the mansion while Orion made joyful leaps around his mistress, barking excitedly.

 

Her stomach protested with a hungry growl as she watched Orion munching happily, she really should get a quick snack before she headed back to Barnabas to resume her watch over Kassandra. She looked about and found the pasteli Savina had brought yesterday morning, they had actually been for quitting time in the evening but had been forgotten after yesterday's chaos.

Hungrily, she wolfed down two pieces as she walked out of the kitchen and made her way up to the first floor. She hoped Kassandra would already feel a bit better. As she walked up the stairs, she licked the sticky honey from her fingers, when her subconscious suddenly unearthed a memory …

 _“I bet your lips taste as sweet as honey.”_ A gentle smile playing on seductive lips, a whispering voice that spread pleasant goosebumps from her ears, down her neck and caressed her breasts until her nipples hardened. Incredibly piercing eyes that seemed to eagerly undress her while large, strong hands touched and gently pulled her closer.

 

 

Kassandra had suggested it would be best if just she and Kyra were to go infiltrate the Athenians’ fort to steal the nation’s purse. While Praxos had suggested running around the entrance, organizing a little chaos with some men trying to lure a bunch of the soldiers away, as the three of them watched the fort from their hiding spot.

“Just the two of us. Easier to sneak in and out.” The misthios had said thoughtfully after she had scouted the area through Ikaros’ eyes.

“You just want me all to yourself don’t you?” Kyra remarked flirtily, nudged Kassandra playfully in the shoulder and received a lopsided smirk from her. Kyra heard Praxos grumping his disapproval about the whole idea and looked back at him. He crouched beetle-browed while Kassandra already sneaked out of their hiding spot and closer to the fort.

“Wait here until we’re back.” Kyra ordered Praxos and was about to catch up to the Eagle Bearer; who’d waited patiently between brushwood a little further away, but Praxos’ hand held her by the shoulder, eased her back until she turned around to him.

He had looked annoyed about the whole idea from the start, Kyra had been aware of that but he hadn’t said anything until Kassandra was out of ear shot. It was just his way of showing loyalty, never questioning Kyra in front of others.

“Kyra, be careful. Scouts came back from Delos. The misthios likes to set fires.”

“Praxos, I know you are worrying about me but look what we have achieved since she’s been here.” Kyra gushed and her eyes carried a look of admiration as she looked at Kassandra, “she just might be the answer to our prayers.”

He huffed at that. “You said the same about Thaletas not so long ago.”

Kyra turned back sharply, her mouth set in a hard line, eyes narrowed. He held her gaze.

“Is there something you want to say?” she asked with a certain edge in her voice.

 

 

Kyra was aware that his only concern was to keep her out of trouble and harm’s way but she was still furious at him. That he caught her flirting with Kassandra and dared to scold her, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. And she was cross with herself for flirting so openly despite knowing it wasn’t right or fair towards Thaletas.

Speaking calmly he said, “she’s nothing special, Kyra. She’s only mortal.”

She sighed, his calm voice and kind expression mellowed her anger like it so often did. But she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “from what I’ve heard she’s much more.”

“Just don’t play with fire.” He had said at last and let her go.

 

 

The Eagle Bearer had once again proved her uniqueness and value by sneaking into the fort, followed by Kyra who got to experience first hand how exceptionally skilled the misthios was. They had infiltrated at night, and Kassandra had knocked out or eliminated every man in their way without even getting noticed, while Kyra just sneaked along and efficiently relieved the corpses of the drachmae and other little valuable objects.

Kassandra hadn’t really used any divine powers except for Ikaros, the way she was able to see through his eyes, commanding and communicating with him to coordinate their attacks and dry-gulching. And the Eagle Bearer was moving and reacting a lot faster than she had ever witnessed any human do. She also seemed to be stronger, pushing and cracking doors and locks whilst barely lifting a finger. The heavy lock of the nation’s purse was janked open with her spear with just a spin of her wrist.

 

On their way back to the rebels’ hideout they halted for a break after running laughingly down a hill. Kyra was intoxicated by tonight’s success and showed a toothy grin when Kassandra dropped the heavy pouch, that has been in the nation’s purse not so long ago.

Slightly out of breath but with a satisfied expression she looked up from the pouch that laid between them. Smiling blissfully she said, “I don’t think I’ve ever said thank you for coming here. You’ve given us hope. You weakened Athens’s grip over Delos, exposed Podarkes, and made way for a Spartan alliance.” All that was left to do now was killing Podarkes she thought and added, “and soon I may finally know peace.”

Infected by Kyra’s happiness Kassandra beamed right back, “I have to admit that I first came here because of the promise of drachmae but I’m delighted to have met you. And I feel very happy and content spending time with you, and seeing you happy is worth more than a pouch full of coins. Sadness and anger doesn’t suit your lovely features.”

Upon hearing Kassandra revealing her honest motives and emotions, her own feelings surfaced again but she tried to keep them at bay after thinking about Thaletas and what Praxos had said to her earlier.

She held back the flirty response, smiling hesitantly, her mind searching for something more casual to say instead, her eyes gazing at the beach below in front of them.

Kassandra had seemed to recognise Kyra’s hesitation and cleared her throat, the noise drew Kyra’s eyes back up to the misthios. Kassandra rubbed her neck, ducked her head, smiling sheepishly while she peered up at Kyra maintaining eye contact.

Kassandra looked baffled, a little embarrassed even and Kyra realized that it wasn’t fair to Kassandra either. She was definitely giving her mixed messages, first flirting with her and then acting like she didn’t appreciate Kassandra’s words.

Kassandra spoke before Kyra could even think about how to answer.

“And I have to thank you, Kyra because being here, helping the Delians; a whole island in need and seeing the outcome is a very satisfying feeling even though we’ve not gotten rid of Podarkes yet. I’ve never before taken on such an extensive contract, this is a whole new experience for me and you helped me realize that there is more than drachmae that makes life worthwhile. You are like a guiding star." And then Kassandra gave her a whorshiping smile. "Astéri mou." _  
_

Kyra wasn’t sure how to deal with those mixed feelings running havok in her heart. One second she wanted to wrap her arms around Kassandra’s neck and kiss her, the next she scolded herself upon realizing she had pushed Thaletas out of her mind so that her conscience had no chance to talk her out of this stupidity.

She felt torn between Kassandra and Thaletas and suddenly regretted that she hadn’t talked about it with Praxos, now that he wasn’t here it was a spur of the moment decision to tell Kassandra how she felt.

“You breathe life into me like nothing and no one has done before. A part of me wishes you had arrived before Thaletas.” Kyra hugged herself after revealing her thoughts, she didn’t dare to look at Kassandra, instead gnawed on her lower lip and sized up a palmtree to their left. Would Kassandra understand? Or would she feel disdained?

Therefore she was all the more surprised when she heard Kassandra say, “these are dangerous times. Stop looking to the future to be happy, when true happiness is right in front of you. If life has taught me one thing, it’s to live in the moment and enjoy what is right here, right now. We could be all dead tomorrow."

Kyra plucked a strand of hair out of her mouth that a gust of wind had placed there. “Right here, right now, I could kiss you!”

“I don’t see anything holding you back.” The Eagle Bearer smirked, holding her hands out and away from her body; giving Kyra a perfect look on her muscular arms, tilting her head a little to the side, lips slightly parted gliding the tip of her tongue seductively over her lower lip. Gosh, this woman was drop-dead gorgeous and devilishly good at flirting.

Kassandra stepped forward, her eyes locked on Kyra’s mouth, she cupped her cheek, brushed a gentle thumb over her lips and purred “I’d hate to meet Hades without having tasted those lips.”

“Very poetic for someone covered in blood. I like it.” Kyra remarked upon realising that the misthios’ armor was a bit more red than in had been before they had sneaked into the fort. She took Kassandra’s hand and removed it from her face where it had lingered stroking her cheek. Then she locked eyes with the misthios, moved her head closer, closer, saw Kassandra shutting her eyes, puckering up… this was wrong, so wrong, what about Thaletas... and just before their lips met Kyra turned her head and placed her lips on the taller woman’s cheek.

“The blood?” Kassandra joked and Kyra’s puckered lips turned into a smile as they rested on the misthios’ cheek for a little while longer than was normal for a thank you kiss.

She was glad to hear Kassandra’s voice didn’t sound disappointed for not having tasted those lips. And Kyra herself was relieved that the kiss hadn’t become an intimate one.

She tried hard to stifle the sudden tiny voice in the back of her mind that was severely disappointed though. If she can’t have those lips she could at least admire these formidable arms though, right, the tiny voice suggested?

When she leaned back she dared to touch those strong arms, giving the biceps a squeeze, letting her hand glide over it and down over the bracer until she reached those substantial, lengthy fingers. Before she lost contact with them Kassandra gently reached out, kept hold on her hand and tugged her gently closer.

When she looked up at Kassandra’s face she saw longing but also sadness.

“Would you even recognize me in the underworld, I wonder?” Kyra genuinely asked.

She felt Kassandra’s hesitation, like they both were aware that they shouldn’t take this any further. And it seemed like Kassandra only waited for a sign of consent from Kyra to take this one step forward.

“I would fight Hades to get to you.” There was a very solemn expression on her face, “I would, just to taste those lips, once. Only once.” She whispered the last part.

Only once. What of it! Kyra stepped willingly closer. Her belly suddenly filled with hundreds of butterflies. She squeezed back at Kassandra’s hand, holding her softly, and put her free hand on the misthios’ chest. She was so tall and strong and Kyra felt safe and secure as Kassandra cupped her cheek again while she squeezed back at their entwined hands.

“I bet your lips taste as sweet as honey.” Kassandra said, gazing intensely at Kyra with her intriguing eyes.

Kyra bit her lower lip, her tongue licking over the part caught between her teeth. Her heart went faster with every beat, the fluttering in her belly wandered down between her legs and grew into a tingling feeling of desire. She couldn’t think straight anymore and her eyes locked in on Kassandra’s lips as the misthios bent down to capture Kyra’s lips.

Kyra closed her eyes when she felt Kassandra’s warm breath on her mouth and immediately after, lips pressed tenderly on her own. A wet tip prodded gently but steadily between her lips, seeking entrance. Kyra parted her lips, allowed Kassandra’s tongue seamless entrance and explored her mouth while they kissed at a leisure pace. When the tip of Kassandra’s tongue found Kyra’s, they started dancing, circling, seeking contact, gently pushing each other until it shot a sudden pang of ecstasy through Kyra’s clit and a guttural moan escaped her.

And then to Kyra’s dismay Kassandra retracted her tongue, moaned delightfully as their lips parted “Indeed, like honey.” Kassandra purred and left Kyra desperate for more.

\---

 

 

Kyra reached the first floor and was about to open the door to Kassandra’s room when Praxos called her name as he walked up the stairs behind her.

She straight away recognized by his concerned look that he wasn’t thrilled about her plans.

"Since Savina won’t come today, I’ve instructed the guards to dismiss any person and petitioners on the grounds that you are not feeling well." He walked past her and blocked her way to Kassandra’s room, crossed his arms in front of his chest and took a stance between her and the door. "And now you’ll go and get some sleep." He directed at Kyra, tilting his head into the direction of her sleeping quarters.

"I'll sleep when I’m dead!" Kyra snapped flippantly and tried to push past him. However, Praxos wasn’t going to put up with that, and with a half-turn he grabbed Kyra around the waist and threw her over his broad shoulder.

Kyra thrashed around, howled and growled madly, “nnnah, let me down!” but she stood no chance against his hold.

Orion came running upstairs upon hearing Kyra’s outcry and started tugging playfully at Praxos' belt, wanting to join in what he perceived to be a fun game.

With his free hand Praxos pushed Kyra’s bedroom door open, strode towards the bed and tossed her unceremoniously down. Arms akimbo, legs splayed he scowled at her while Orion barked excitedly and jumped onto the bed that creaked disconcertingly under the weight of them both.

When Kyra made an attempt at getting up and out of bed Praxos pointed a warning finger at her and grumbled, “you will sleep now. And don’t even think about sneaking out, I will stand watch in front of your door if I have to.”

“I hate you right now.” Kyra shouted and threw the nearest pillow at him, gave a surly growl and flopped on her back.

Praxos eyed her for a short time until he was sure she had caved in to his demand, he turned around on his heel and was almost out the door when he heard her ask, “how do you know Nike?”

Turning back to her, he saw she was leaning on her elbows, eyeing him with a look askance.

“Damn, Kyra! Not from what you think.” He was shook, even a little hurt that Kyra would just think that he had made use of Nike’s service.

“Well, I’m listening.” Kyra sat up, she had sensed the man’s chagrin and now looked ashamed as well as being confused. Orion had flopped down beside her, placed his head on her crossed legged thigh. She absentmindedly scratched his neck as Praxos walked back to the bed and sat down.

The bed creaked even more this time.

“I met her at Mikis’ tavern a short time after …,” he was about to say something different but changed in the last second, “after you took the role of Archon. She showed interest in me so we started a dialogue, had a drink, you know the usual way it goes, until she asked if I’d be interested in her service and I politely declined, telling her she reminds me of someone who is very dear to me and it would feel wrong to me.” All this time he had kept his eyes locked down on his hands resting between his legs, playing with his fingernails.

Kyra couldn’t help herself when a smile formed on her lips upon seeing a flush creeping up Praxos’ cheeks, it was the first time ever she witnessed him being bashful. It was adorable and upon hearing him turning down Nike’s offer she felt a sense of pride blooming in her chest.

“So we just sat, drank, talked and yeah we meet up now and then, shoot the breeze whenever I catch a drink at Mikis’. And over time, when I’d told her about my involvement with the rebellion she told me a bit about herself and her mother, that Podarkes had used her skills to secretly nurse his troops on Delos. I never talked about you and your similarities. But it was only a matter of time before somebody who knew both of you pointed it out to her, I guess. Actually anyone who isn’t always around you would hardly notice similarities.” Finally Praxos looked up again, searching her face and found her nibbling on her lower lip, visibly touched.

“Still, it’s a wonder that I haven’t gotten wind of it in three years. And why have you never told me?” Kyra asked him with a slight undertone of disappointment.

“It wouldn’t have helped you after everything you had just been through, would it? All I wanted was to protect you from anything that would cause you any more pain. And I haven’t met with her for a long time now and honestly I forgot about her with all my duties here. I just happened to remember when Barnabas asked for a healer.”

Now it was Kyra who looked down, braced on her right arm, her free hand playing with Orion’s floppy ear, “do you think Podarkes.. do you think Nike is-.” Kyra sighed, she felt a little bit stupid for even thinking that and speaking it out loud was really weird.

“I don’t know.” He put his hand over Kyra’s, showed her a encouraging smile “If you want to know, go and talk to Nike.” Upon seeing her doubtful expression he added, “or Rhea.”

Praxos rose to his feet, the bed gave what could be interpreted as a relieved sigh and walked to the door. Standing in the doorway he turned around to Kyra and said “Try to sleep.”

Kyra laid back and shut her eyes after the door closed behind Praxos. But her mind couldn’t find rest. Nike. Kassandra. She stared at the ceiling, heaved a heavy sigh, sat up again, removed her sandals, laid back again, stared at the ceiling until her eyes found and followed a tiny spider crawling along the edge between ceiling and wall.

Maybe she would go and see Rhea when Kassandra was over the worst. Nike wasn’t an option, she was sure Kassandra had; unlike Praxos, without a second thought or any doubts or qualms jumped into bed with her. But then Kassandra probably jumped everything that had a handful of tits, she thought bitterly.

She made a noisy grump upon getting annoyed at herself again. Why did she even care? It’s not like she wanted her back. No. Definitely not. She killed Thaletas. Left him laying there to rot.

 _Eye sockets wide open, one eye amiss, mouth agape, throat slit…_ She forced the vision of his grossly distorted face out of her mind.

She hated Kassandra for that but she couldn’t let her just die. Why? Shouldn’t she hate her? or at least be indifferent? Life had been endurable until she had returned. Kyra didn’t understand her inner turmoil. Her eyes welled up, tears ran down the corner of her eyes and she sniffed audibly.

Orion shuffled his way up her flank, nudged her arm which she then lifted so he could hug himself against the side of her chest. His eyes looked at her worriedly and he whimpered an, _“are you okay?”_. Kyra turned to her side and hugged him, rested her chin over his head and started to cry.

“I don’t know what to do. Why won’t she leave me alone?”

 

 

When Kyra woke up she rubbed the grainy remains of crying from her eyes and face. She sat up and watched Orion stretching and yawning lazily “I hope you slept as well as I did, my sweet boy.” She smiled. She felt well rested, no bad dreams had plagued her luckily, even though she had fallen asleep with so much grief in her mind. She stood up, stretched hugely and went to check herself in the mirror. There were minor shadows under her eyes and her hair looked tousled, the first she couldn’t do anything about, the second she could arrange with a comb.

She was thirsty and hungry and went down into the kitchen, drinking several cups of water and found fresh olive-cheese-bread and a still warm stew on the cold oven. She helped herself to a big portion of the stew but wondered who had cooked since she had sent the housemaid home this morning.

Praxos had cooked stew often in the rebel hideout but this tasted very good, too good to be from Praxos she realized as she dipped the bread into the stew and munched delightedly. Praising the taste with an audible moan. She emptied the bowl quickly. Drank one more cup of water and let Orion out to let him do his business. When she glanced up in the sky she realized that the she had slept for most of the day and it wouldn’t be long before the sun starts to set.

On her way back up she hoped Kassandra’s condition had improved in the meantime with the detox treatment and the arrowhead removed. The sooner she was fit again the sooner she could send Kassandra on her way and off Mykonos and hopefully Kyra’s life would shift back to being perfectly ordinary.

When she entered Kassandra's room, she was visibly surprised to find Savina. Orion slipped past her through the door and went tail-wagging on a welcoming tour. First he pressed his wet snout to Barnabas’ thigh; as he sat in a chair, then he sniffed Kassandra's hand for a moment and gave it a lick, turned, ran around the bed, and gave Savina a wet, slobbery kiss to the face.

"Kyra! You look better. I hope you had a restful sleep." Inquired Barnabas; he seemed to be in a good mood, which could only mean that Kassandra's condition had improved. Kassandra seemed to be sleeping, and at first sight Kyra could see that her skin color had gone back to a natural tone again.

Then she turned to her assistant, hands on her hips. "Savina!-"

The blonde woman got up from her chair, timidly explained her disobedience "excuse me, Archon, but after I slept, I was worried when I remembered you could not look after the Eagle Bearer and at the same time take on your tasks as Archon."

Kyra was about to object, but Savina was faster. "I brought fresh bandages, as many as I could rustle up and I cooked wild boar stew."

"Oh, yes, if you haven’t eaten yet, you absolutely have to try. Delicious." Barnabas raved and added, "if Savina hadn’t already been taken I would ask her hand in marriage."

Savina’s whole face turned crimson.

Kyra raised her hands to silence them both then walked up to Barnabas, crossed her arms and leaned over Kassandra. “How is she?” She asked as she scanned the sleeping form beneath her. Kassandra was still sweating, she also observed that the erratic eye movement had stopped and her face looked a lot more relaxed but the latter could also come from the medicine. She straightened back up and inclined her head towards Barnabas, listening with interest to his words.

“Better. As you can see her skin is back to normal and she stopped mumbling nonsense. I think it was just seconds before the zero hour when Rhea showed up. A little later and Kassandra might not have escaped Hades’ grasp but now I’m sure she’s going to make it.”

Kyra smiled out of relief and upon seeing Barnabas eyes and voice flashing with hope, she felt happy about witnessing him in such good spirits.

They turned in unison towards the door where Praxos put his head inside the room, “there you are,” and then the rest of his body. “I just arrived back from Rhea’s wine delivery.”

“Don’t you dare put me back into bed. I’ve slept enough.” Kyra warned him.

“Actually I wanted to relieve you from watch. I have prepared refreshments on the upper terrace. And Rhea gave me some more medicine.” He held up a bag which Savina accepted and immediately took care of.

“Oh! Did she let you go or had you to flee with your pants down?” Kyra gave him a sly look and snickered upon seeing a flush creeping up his face.

 

 

Although Kyra offered to watch over Kassandra with Praxos, so Savina and Barnabas could have a well-deserved break, Savina insisted that Kyra went up first. Kyra had tried to argue, having just eaten from Savina's delicious stew, but as Barnabas reasoned that they hadn’t had time to talk properly, she agreed at last.

“I didn’t had a chance to thank you.” Barnabas mumbled with his full mouth.

“What for?” Kyra asked.

“Saving her life,” he said after taking a long sip from his wine cup then burping into his hand.

Kyra lifted her shoulders in a half shrug and held out a spread hand, “what should I have done, watched her being eaten alive by a lion?”

“Of course not but given how things were when she left you… “ looking a little bashful, he glanced over out of the corner of his good eye.

Kyra just gave him a disapproving look over the rim of her cup. But then to his surprise remarked, “maybe that thought would have crossed my mind if the scene wouldn’t have been so horrific.”

“Nevermind…” Barnabas didn’t take affront at the sick joke but thought it a good idea to change the topic. “So, what’s the deal with Nike and your-”

The sudden impact and loud smack of Kyra’s flat hand on the table made the old man jump and her tone implied very clearly that the topic was off the table. “We are _not_ going to have a discussion about that.”

He grabbed his cup with both hands, holding it protectively in front of his chest as if it could protect him from Kyra’s little flash of anger

“Ooh-kay.” Barnabas smiled to himself. Kassandra loved challenges and indeed Kyra was a very special challenge. He wondered if Kassandra was up to the job.

Munching on a piece of olive bread Barnabas looked about, it was a lovely view from the top terrace, you could look out over most of the southwest side of the city below and the great Temple of Artemis standing protectively above the town, providing a good amount of shade on hot days. And the tall statue of Artemis in the middle of the Island always got to him, it was a spectacular sight. he enjoyed the moment of peaceful silence until Kyra broke it.

“What I would like to know is why Linos wanted to kill her?”

“He is more than likely working for the Cultist King.”

Reclining against the low balustrade Kyra frowned, “What cultist king?”

"Kassandra discovered that one of Sparta's kings is a member of the Cult of Cosmos."

The Cult of Cosmos! Kyra remembered, Kassandra told her about that organisation. They were after her family, after the divine blood that flowed through Kassandra’s veins. And Kyra’s own father. No. Begetter, she corrected herself had been one of them too.

Barnabas frowned and rubbed his beard thoughtfully, "if Archidamos is the traitor he could have had her killed on the ship, on the way to Mykonos and had her thrown into the sea.”

“Linos said Kassandra was a valuable weapon to him. Maybe he wanted to make use of her skills and power before getting rid of her. I’m sure he had planned to kill her on that cliff, after all he was very adamant about keeping me and my guards out of the way.”

“Either he is a Cult member himself or he surely works for the traitor king.” The old man gasped, “we have to warn Rhea and Nike. Kyra! You must be very careful when the Cult is on Mykonos and you shouldn’t talk about Kassandra with anyone, not even your servants. Send them all home as long as you’re hiding Kassandra here.”

Something in the back of Kyra’s mind kept nagging, she tried to remember back to the moment where she watched Linos attacking Kassandra on the cliff. Then it hit her. “The Spartans from the fort weren’t there either. It was just his _special_ troop. I don’t think the spartans from the fort are members of the cult.”

Barnabas set his cup down, strode purposefully up to Kyra, grabbed her by her shoulders and urged her to caution. “Nevertheless, Kyra! Be careful. The Cult is very dangerous and powerful.”

Suddenly Barnabas squinted his eyes, looked past Kyra in the direction of the town as he let go of her. “Someone’s coming up the path.” He walked past Kyra, pushed one of the drapes aside to get a better view with his one eye. “Looks like spartan red.”

Kyra had almost shoved him aside as fast as she had turned to take a look for herself.

“Malaka.” Kyra cursed as she identified Linos. He strolled leisurely along the path and was just crossing the stable. Barnabas and Kyra managed to hide behind the drapes just as Linos suddenly looked up at the terrace.

“We have to keep him out of the house.” Kyra hissed with a slight panicky undertone as she roughly dragged Barnabas down the stairs.

“Does he know you?” Kyra inquired as she tugged him around the corner.

“Yes.”

“You go hide in Kassandra’s room, tell Praxos to stand watch in front.”

“Kyra?”

“What?”

“Why are we whispering?”

Kyra scowled, tore open the door to Kassandra’s room and pushed him inside. Then she turned on her heels, lifted the skirts of her chiton a bit so she wouldn’t stumble and ran down the stairs as fast she could, taking two steps at once.

Kyra wasn’t prepared, she was nervous and she wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t scratch his eyes out the moment this backstabber smiled at her. She would need a moment to calm down, to collect herself so she could play the polite Archon that would tell him to come another day but she had no time and no idea for an excuse.

He must already be talking with the guards by now she thought nervously. And what if he sees the buckets full of bloody bandages that they haven’t burned yet. She made a sharp turn around the corner and bumped so heavily into Savina that the other woman landed flat on her butt. The water amphora she had carried shattered in many pieces and soaked her dress. Kyra knelt down, apologized, inquired if she was alright as she helped her to her feet.

“No, no. Forget the amphora. Savina. Listen! I need your help.” Kyra sputtered nervously as she prevented Savina from picking up the shards.

Savina was stunned for a moment upon seeing the Archon so wired. And even more so when she cupped her face and stared intensely into Savina’s eyes. The Archon seemed to have calmed down a bit though because her expression now was more determined, less panicked.

“That spartan bastard who injured the misthios is out there. You have to get rid of him. Just tell him something that’s reasonable. Please. I… I can’t do that now. I’m-”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this one.” Savina said soothingly and patted Kyra’s hands which still lingered on Savina’s cheeks.

As Kyra realised it she took them quickly down, slightly embarrassed but still thankful for Savina’s professional behaviour, unlike her own momentary panic. Kyra was glad to have Savina, she was valuable and loyal and they had even managed to build a sort of friendship over the last years. It was the nearest thing to a friendship Kyra had built in the intervening years, aside from Praxos.

She tried to calm her breathing, swept some stray strands of hair out of her face and took a deep breath which she slowly breathed out again through puckered lips.

She then followed Savina at a little distance, and hid behind the wall of the atrium’s passage. She could clearly hear Linos’ demanding voice as he argued with the two guards in the forecourt, trying to get past them despite them telling him that the Archon wasn’t available.

 

“Evios, Itheus! I’ll take care of that.” Savina signaled the guards with a wave of her hand as she strode purposefully right up to them, “Polemarch Linos, how can I be of assistance?”

The Spartan scowled after the guards who returned to their posts then puffed out his chest and raised his head and demanded. “I need to see the Archon.”

“You need to? Or you want to?” Savina inquired unimpressed as she looked at the flowers in his hand. He quickly hid them behind his back. She looked back up and waited for an answer that didn’t came.

Putting her arms behind her back to straighten her own posture Savina inquired a little more precisely, “is this visit of a private nature or is there an emergency affecting public safety? If it is the latter then I am the Archon’s assistant and have clearance to take charge of her business on occasions when she’s not available.”

He looked down, lowered his voice and said, “it is of a private nature.” Then coughed and looked up again, but not at Savina.

“In that case I have to unfortunately tell you that the Archon is not available today.” And with that she hoped he would finally accept and be gone.

“Why?” Now he looked at her again.

“The Archon is...indisposed,” she said cooly.

“Indisposed?” he eyed her dubiously.

“Indeed, she is currently receiving a visitor?” Savina drew the first word out longer than was usual, trying to buy time for an excuse.

“I’m her visitor?” Linos looked a bit unsure at how Savina had spoken, as though he wasn’t sure if she was trying to give him a hint to something.

“No. Her _monthly_ visitor.” Savina tried again, this time with a bit more effort on hinting.

"Who?" He demanded to know, his jealousy obviously perceiving a potential rival.

“No, not who, Polemarch. She is.. umm _bleeding_.” Savina sighed to herself and wondered how men managed to remain so unaware of what went on with half of the population.

“What? Who attacked her? I will kill the blaggard!" He spluttered bewildered, throwing back his shoulders, reaching for the hilt of his sword with the hand that wasn’t holding the increasingly incongruous bunch of flowers.

The guards at their posts behind them began to snigger.

Linos’ jaw tightened and he jerked around, “such disrespect! I will thrash the lot of you, your mistress lies bleeding and you stand there laughing, where were you when this attack happened you useless wretches?!” He scolded them, waving a fist in their direction.

Savina pressed her lips together and fought hard to not join in to the sniggering. But upon seeing Linos getting angry at the guards she stepped closer and laid a hand on his arm to calm him down. “No, no Polemarch, please. Calm yourself. The Archon is in no danger. She's not bleeding from a wound.”

She managed to calm him down but she was sure it hadn’t been the effect of her hand, but rather what she had said, judging by his puzzled expression. He looked truly confused now and she felt a little pity for him but only because he did seem to care for Kyra’s wellbeing.

She tried another approach at explaining about the Archon’s indisposition. “Aphrodite's temple is currently inaccessible?”

“What? Does the shattering noise I heard before has anything to do with this?”

Savina cleared her throat and blushed a little bit as she winked slowly and nodded meaningfully at her own crotch.

Linos followed her gaze, stared for a moment.

“Oh!” He turned red up to his hairline “I shall return...in....how many days?”

Savina sighed to herself, relieved he finally got the hint, “She usually recovers in two days.”

“Very well.” He turned around and was about to walk away when he swung back and thrust the flowers at Savina, his eyes fixed on the blooms not daring to look up at Savina. “For her suffering!” he mumbled sheepishly.

Then he bid her goodbye and stomped off. Savina watched him until he vanished down the slope. She turned and looked at Evios and Itheus and smirked before heading back to the atrium.

When Savina entered the atrium she heard muffled laughing to her left and found Kyra sitting on the floor, hand pressed over her mouth, tears of laughter running down her cheeks.

Kyra got to her feet, wiped the tears away and recovered herself quickly but the grin wouldn’t vanish “Is he gone?”

“Be quiet Archon, you're suffering.” Savina grinned too now and gave her the flowers, “I told him you will be available in two days time. I also told him that you don’t like flowers and to bring some of Leandro’s exquisite wine the next time he shows up.”

Savina did a good job, presenting a perfectly plausible excuse and adamantly resisting Linos’ insistent attempts to see the Archon. Kyra was quite proud of her.

“I think it’s time for you to get a raise, Savina.” Kyra said and threw the flowers towards Orion who caught them in midair, shredding and munching on them.

 

 

“What happened? Did you got rid of him?” Barnabas inquired, all churned up inside as he rose from the chair abandoning Kassandra’s nursing when Savina and Kyra entered.

“For now yes but he will be back in two days at the latest.” Kyra enlightened the old man.

“I’m not sure Kassandra will be fit enough to take her to the Adrestia before then.” He said, visibly worried as he walked back to the sleeping form. The wrinkles in his face crinkled even more with pensiveness as he tried to find a solution. “Why is he even still here, shouldn’t he head back to Sparta to report victory to the kings?”

“He’s likely investigating the whereabouts of his missing nephew.” Savina declared, trying to help but as she saw a shadow falling over Kyra’s face she reprimanded herself for bringing up this delicate subject.

“His nephew?” Barnabas knitted his brows and gave Savina an inquiring look but she had turned her back to them and decided to look after Kassandra, giving Kyra and Barnabas a bit more privacy.

“Thaletas.” Kyra just flat out stated then crossed her arms and looked at Kassandra somewhat reproachfully.

“Oh.” He stroked his beard, momentarily lost for words.

“Have you... would they be able to find his grave?” He asked Kyra carefully.

“No. He got a funeral pyre, his remains have been delivered to the sea. Just like he once told me he wanted it to be.” She walked up to the bed, eyeing Kassandra’s sleeping form for a while and tried to remember what Rhea had told them. Two days until the worst would be over and the poison would be out of her body. But then there was still the bloodloss and her heavy injuries.

“She’s strong. She heals faster than anyone I’ve ever seen before but two days isn’t enough. All the same I don’t want to burden you with her care any longer than necessary-”

Kyra held a hand up, signaling him to stop, “Barnabas. That’s not what I’m worried about. What would Kassandra do? About Linos?”

“Kassandra? Kill him I guess, he’s part of the cult after all.”

“Exactly.” Kyra affirmed in a very calm but cold voice.

“You want to kill him?” Barnabas squawked in utter disbelief and threw his hands up, “how would you even attempt that, he is heavily guarded?”

A mischievous smile snaked its way onto Kyra’s lips, her eyes flickered with malice. She put her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it and then laughed almost inaudible under her breath. “You’ve never had a woman for an enemy, have you?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyra is planning a murder, but had no idea of the surprise that the night had ready for her.  
> Kassandra's condition seems to be improving but she is still barely conscious. Daddy Barnabas is taking good care of her though :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my greek friend Anthi for her translation help whenever I add greek language to the story. 
> 
> If you wanna know what the phrase means Kassandra is saying you can google it :D I've also edited some of the other chapters and sneaked that phrase in to give it a deeper impact. So if you have been waiitng for a reason to reread the whole fic, this is it ;)
> 
> And as always thanks to my beta Doc Hoffman who contributed a good chunk of conversation ideas while we kinda roleplayed :D This story would only be half a s good without her support :3
> 
> And yeah we finally got to see how a certain OC that has some fans, looks like ;)

 

 

The client's fingers were already sliding hungrily over her waist as she opened the door to her quarters. She turned, wrapped her arms around the customer's neck and kissed him as she pulled him into the room. The only source of light came from the torches in the hallway, and neither of them had noticed the intruder until they spoke.

"She already has a customer."

Nike and the man jumped, startled by the voice. It came from a veiled woman; sitting hunched in the dim light, face hidden by a hooded cloak.

Although her face was shrouded, Nike knew exactly who it was, sitting at her table. The customer, who had been looking forward to hours of erotic pleasure with the beautiful hetaera, replied angrily, "go and find yourself a man, stupid bitch!"

"Did you pay in advance?" The veiled woman asked, audibly unimpressed.

"Eh? Who in their right mind is going to do that?" He babbled, squinting, trying to make out the stranger's face. The flickering of the oil lamp on the table gave nothing away, only deepened the mystery.

"I did! Now sod off before I relieve you of something more valuable to you than your drachmae." And to underline her statement, she pulled out a dagger from the recesses of her cloak.

"Malaka! Is that one of your obsessive regular customers?" He muttered to Nike, then quickly took a few steps back into the hallway as the veiled woman got up and skilfully let the dagger dance between her fingers.

Without turning to her client, keeping her eyes fixed on the other woman, Nike said impassively, "You should go." Slowly she closed the door behind her with one arm and kept her eyes glued on the intruder as she heard her customer stomp away.

Her blue eyes sparkled affronted, bitter about the lost custom, but her voice was controlled when she asked, "What do you want?"

Kyra lowered her hood and placed the dagger on the table. "Actually, I was looking for Rhea."

"Well you certainly won’t find her in _my_ room." Nike answered, her eyes directed at the dagger.

Relief flowed through her as Kyra explained that she was looking for her mother. When Nike had initially recognised her, it was as though Kyra had nothing left of the hurt young woman standing by the window of the sick room, worried about Kassandra.

In that moment Kyra had seemed instead sinister and threatening. She was not afraid that Kyra would attack her out of jealousy, nevertheless it was still a bit disturbing to find her veiled, waiting silently, lurking in the dark of her room.

"She was neither in her room nor down in the tavern, so I was waiting for you here when I saw you picking up that pansy caveman. I would have thought you could do better, quite frankly." Kyra commented cattily as she removed her cloak, picked up the dagger, stowed it safely away and settled back in the chair.

"And the option of addressing me in your disguise rather than scaring off my customer did not enter your mind? I would have thought you could do better, quite frankly." Nike remarked pointedly, deliberately keeping eye contact as she put her hands on her hips.

Kyra hadn’t come to insult Nike, she had expected to see Rhea to ask for and receive what she came for and be gone, quick and easy.

Instead, she had to deal with Nike, and somehow she felt intimidated by her calm demeanour. And Kyra was certainly not a person to back off easily. It made her nervous and activated her defense mechanism, made Kyra react in a confrontial way. But her witty remark backfired, she tried to ignore Nike's words. Still it was uncomfortable that she had to speak with her almost mirror image but she managed to resist Nike’s stare, returning a sharp look. "Where is Rhea?"

"She left for Delos this afternoon, at short notice, some emergency, I don’t know when she will come back."

When she noticed Kyra's worried expression, it occurred to Nike that it could have something to do with Kassandra. "Is this about Kassandra? Has her condition worsened?"

There was not much left of Nike's outward composure, Kyra noticed as Nike’s posture deflated and she approached Kyra with worry etched on her face.

"No. She seems to be even better now." Kyra dismissed. The thought of denying Nike the answer crossed her mind, but Nike had helped a good deal with Kassandra, it would be an unnecessarily cruel move.

"Then you need more medicine? Mother has left everything if you need more. " Nike turned and knelt in front of the bed, pulling out a bag.

"No. I need poison.”

Nike dropped the bag on the bed and gaped at Kyra in bewilderment, blinking once, twice, then she seemed to rouse herself and recover her composure. She frowned, "Poison? My mother is a healer not an assassin."

Kyra pretended she hadn’t heard the other woman’s words and said, "preferably the strongest you have," with such determination that Nike didn’t, even for a moment, think that it might be a joke.

"What for?" Nike inquired now before she approached the table and poured some honey-wine into a cup. She suddenly needed something stronger than simple wine. She was about to grab a second cup for Kyra from the shelf above the table when she heard her answer.

"Do you ask this question of all your customers when they ask for your services?"

Nike put the cup back, such a brazen remark didn’t deserve a hydromeli. Apparently, Kyra resented the fact that Kassandra had taken advantage of Nike’s services, even if she didn’t know what really happened that night.

Nike knew better than to allow herself to be provoked by Kyra's audacity.

"Even my mother would want to know what you need the poison for. After all, the one who supplies you also shares responsibility for the consequences. Should I find out in retrospect that you have the half island on your conscience, I wouldn’t rest until you have come to judgement."

Kyra looked at the bag, then up at Nike, chewing on her lower lip as she debated with herself, trying to control her breathing. She felt anger rise inside her but it would not be helpful in this situation.

Even if Kyra was superior to Nike in close combat, at least she assumed so; she didn’t want to have to use violence to get the poison. And it was understandable that Nike wanted to know what she was doing with it. Kyra might be quick-tempered but she was not a conscienceless monster like Linos or... _him_.

She made her decision and told, in a nutshell, of Linos’ surprise visit, about her plan to get rid of him because of the danger he posed to Kassandra and others. She also explained, as well as she could, about the Cult of Cosmos, about the potential danger to Nike and her mother, passing on Barnabas’ warnings.

Apparently, her explanations were convincing enough for Nike. She thought silently for a moment, looked solemnly at Kyra and seemed to come to a decision. Walking to the door she stopped and turned, asked Kyra to wait a moment and stepped outside.

While she waited, Kyra looked around the spacious room, a big bed; which conjured an unwanted image of Kassandra and Nike that she swiftly pushed from her mind, some nicely decorated storage boxes, on one of them lay a beautiful, expensive looking dress, a shelf full of little bottles and pots filled with perfumes, oils and creams. The tools of Nike’s trade.

Obviously, Nike earned quite well with her _services_. Services that Kassandra had also used; whispered the little voice in the back of her head. _"Maybe,"_ she thought to herself to counter the voice, after all, she didn’t really know.

A part of Kyra didn’t want to believe that Kassandra had used the services of a hetaera. Part of her felt betrayed? She made a defensive tsk noise to block these intrusive thoughts from her mind and went to one of the windows. It was already dark and quiet outside but laughter and voices reached her ears through the door from the tavern below.

Finally, Nike re-entered the room, she had a small pouch in her hand, which she placed on the table and opened. Kyra felt hope and anticipation spread as she faced her, watching as Nike carefully removed a small, dark vial.

Nike held it out towards her in the flat of her hand, when Kyra went to accept it, Nike closed her hand sharply, making Kyra look up at her. Nike's voice made it clear that she was really serious.

"Be very careful with it. This is a highly concentrated mixture of ricin and scorpion venom. Absorption via the skin alone can cause some discomfort. Orally administered, it will only take a minute and you’ll have this bastard lying motionless at your feet. Be aware though, it could get a little dirty around him, it paralyzes every muscle and he will not only lose blood from his body orifices."

Nike turned to the table, put the bottle back in the pouch, and handed it to Kyra. "Store and guard it very well," she said emphatically again and looked at Kyra intently. She in return nodded deliberately and tied the inconspicuous bag to her belt.

Kyra double checked that it was tight and secure. The day after tomorrow Linos would already lie in pain and his life would drain away in front of her. A mix of relief and impatience spread through her as she thought of it and couldn’t prevent a sinister smirk playing at her lips.

She was reaching for her hooded cloak when Nike asked her, "why is Kassandra so important to you?"

“She isn’t.” Kyra answered coolly as she draped the cloak around her shoulders. She wished this woman would stop looking at her. She couldn’t wait to be outside, to not have to look at a cheap mirror image of herself. That Kassandra had touched, kissed, fucke-

“Why did you save her life then?” Nike remained persistent and kept her eyes fixed on Kyra while she consciously avoided Nike’s gaze.

“Maybe because anyone with any common decency would?” The urge grew in her to escape this room and Nike's questions as she closed the fastener of her cloak and headed for the door.

Nike pushed a little harder her voice placid, "Common decency alone wouldn’t make you jeopardize the safety of your employees and friends for someone who is not important to you. The risk you take on hiding and nursing her in your own house? Let alone being on the verge of killing the man who nearly killed her- "

Kyra’s hand was almost on the door handle when she made a sharp turn and snapped. “Why is she so important to _you_?”

Nike blinked at her with compassion but didn’t answer, it made Kyra even more livid than she already felt. Who was this bitch that dared to prod her with questions.

“This morning, the way you accused me of hurting her! Do you get so attached to all your clients?” Kyra asked in a sharp voice.

“Kassandra wasn’t a client. And I’m sorry I said that, I was worried when I saw her and I know you care about her too.” Nike said with obvious sincerity.

Wasn’t a client? Then how did she know Kassandra? What was she then? Did they fuck because… because they liked each other? Of course, it made sense if Kassandra couldn’t have Kyra and then this, this lookalike whore showed up. She couldn’t help but huff out a brief burst of inappropriate laughter. By the gods, this was even worse. Kyra felt suddenly sick. And so furious she had a hard time controlling her rage. But she tried, took a deep breath through her nose, jaw clenched and said.

“Well then, as soon as she can walk you can come and collect her because clearly I don’t care about her the way you do. I can’t wait to get rid of her and the trouble she’s brought onto my Islands.”

“If you didn’t care you wouldn’t be so touchy and defensive about her.” Nike sounded a little bit annoyed now Kyra noticed with satisfaction.

Kyra exhaled a bitter laugh. “For a prestigious whore you are quite dense. I don’t care about her, she destroyed my life, she killed the man I loved. I don’t feel anything for her but disdain.” Kyra cut the air between them with a her outstretched arm and yelled,

“I hate her!”

Her nostrils flared and her eyes flashed angrily at Nike and Kyra was ready, waiting expectantly for Nike to shout back at her now but,

“No.” Nike said serenely, “you are wrong. The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. If you hate her than you still love her.”

Nike had spoken with such tranquility, so calm that Kyra was taken aback and with the same calmness she spoke further, “when she was with me, Kassandra talked only about _you_.”

Kyra’s physical tension suddenly dissolved into thin air without any effort on her part. Her brows refused to furrow, her breath refused to quicken, her jaw refused to clench.

“She wept in my arms and talked about _you_.” Nike said in a gentle voice, there was no reproach in it either.

Kyra swallowed and crossed her arms. “I don’t care.” But her voice betrayed her.

“And how she wronged you.” She watched as Kyra’s eyes darted around nervously, trying to find a spot where she could safely place them.

“I don’t want to hear that.” she wanted to leave this room but her legs failed her.

“And how you broke her heart.” Nike continued talking in a soft voice.

“She broke _my_ heart!” The fire in Kyra’s voice ignited again.

“Do you want to know what I think?”

Kyra still didn’t look up at her at that question, only shook her head, she didn’t wanted to listen to any more of this.

“You broke each other's hearts.”

Kyra stayed silent, bound on her spot, swallowed repeatedly, fighting against the tears and was relieved when she won.

Still, there were some undeniable facts in what Nike had discovered and it scared Kyra. She felt scared and vulnerable. All these years she had worked so hard to suppress her feelings, to banish the pain. To forget Thaletas and Kassandra. And when she finally made it, her life was finally bearable again; enjoyable even, Kassandra invaded ruthlessly and brutally back into her life.

Why couldn’t Kassandra just leave her alone? Why did she haunt her? And suddenly Kyra’s legs gave in.

Collapsing down on the bed, hunched, hands resting between her legs she couldn’t stop the memories and related emotions flooding her mind. Her truth revealed to her, by Nike of all people, the woman she’d dismissed as just a whore. Damn, she made her name all honor. But she was thankful Nike had finally stopped talking, stopped pushing her about that topic.

There was a long silence. It surrounded them, spread out like a bubble, crept into every corner of the room and even cut out the sounds from the taverna.

 

Nike felt her heart squeeze in sympathy observing Kyra’s slumped posture, head hanging low. She contemplated sitting down next to her; something inside urged her to wrap that poor bundle into a hug, but she wasn’t sure if Kyra would or could accept that. She decided to crouch down so that her standing posture wouldn’t feel like a victory over her to the clearly defeated woman.

Resting one arm on her bent leg and propping her head up with the other, she studied Kyra’s sallow features, the woman was clearly processing a lot inwardly right now and she wondered how two women so inextricably connected could have been through so much together and never have seriously discussed their pain, confusion, longing.

Kyra swallowed audibly, sniffed once, and then Nike’s eyes caught sight of a single tear that rolled down Kyra’s cheek.

Nike rose to her feet and approached the bed at a slow pace and when Kyra hadn’t shown any signs of discomfort as she stood next to her, glancing down, Nike settled down.

Looking at her own hands resting on her knees Nike gently said, “There is no shame in loving a woman that you feel you ought to hold in contempt because of something she did. Whether it was accidentally or on purpose. There is only shame if you deliberately refuse forgiveness just to hurt someone, or if you refuse to learn a lesson from failure. Kassandra is a remarkable woman, a remarkable woman that _you_ managed to bring to her knees.”

Nike knew more pressure wouldn’t do any good now. She didn’t look at her and also didn’t expect an answer in any form. “Whatever she means to you, find the answer for yourself when you're ready,” because Kyra needed to realize and accept it for herself.

 

She listened further to Nike, who was sitting next to her, speaking softly.

Kyra just sat, unmoving all the time, even when Nike had approached her at the bed. All Nike had said had been right and Kyra was tired of fighting, of denying, of running away, and when she accepted that, she suddenly didn’t care that Nike had sat down next to her.

“Whatever she means to you, find the answer for yourself when you're ready.”

And strangely upon these realizations she felt some kind of peace and comfort beginning to engulf her inner turmoil even if she still couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling that Kassandra was haunting her, wouldn’t leave her alone and had ruined Kyra’s life.

“She came to me because I reminded her of you and she wanted to tell me all the things she couldn't say to you because you weren't ready to listen.”

But Nike's words hadn’t only brought her inner demons to the surface, they also made her realize the power she herself had over Kassandra. Kyra hadn’t given her a second chance to speak up after their first initial shouting match at the villa. And had punished her with disregard ever since then. How desperate Kassandra must have felt, no wonder that in her frustration she had reached out to Nike, their resemblance was uncanny.

Kyra looked from her hands up to Nike, wiped the wet trail the tear had left on her cheek, examined Nike’s blue eyes; the one feature that clearly distinguished them from each other. She peered into them, searching, bit her lower left lip for a moment. She felt unsure if she should ask, but then before second thoughts could tell her not to, she quietly asked, “do you know your father?”

Nike’s voice was soft and she gave a sad smile when she answered “I think you know who my father was.”

Kyra’s clenched jaw went loose, partially opening her lips as she released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

“He was a monster.” Nike added in a low voice.

Kyra’s chin suddenly began to tremble and she had to look away, murmured under her breath, “I'm sorry.” It was all she could say at the moment because of the lump forming in her throat that could break loose any second and make her weep. She put her hands over her mouth before she heard Nike say,

“You are the last person who should be apologising for any of this.”

She wasn’t even sure why she was on the verge of crying, was it because of the astonishing revelation that she had a sister? That she wasn’t the only bastard child of Podarkes.

Kyra managed to swallow the lump in her throat and regained her composure. There were so many questions on her mind right now, so many things she wanted to say, and she had no idea where to begin.

She kept her gaze forward and settled for a statement, “he killed my mother.”

“I know.” Nike said gently.

It took Kyra by surprise to hear that and she wanted to know, “how?”

“You don’t remember me anymore.” It was more a statement than a question.

Kyra looked at her, dumbfounded, and shook her head slightly.

Nike shifted on the bed to face Kyra in a more comfortable position and then began to tell her what Rhea told her once.

“Rhea knew your mother, we visited you once during a trip to Mykonos. Gosh, it’s so long ago, I was just growing into a woman.” Nike remembered and then a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “You were still so small. At that time I didn’t know anything about our connection. Mother first told me when we moved to Mykonos after... his death and someone made a remark about our similarity. "

“I wanted to know more and get in touch with you, but mother had concerns that it could negatively affect your position if the people were to get wind of your ancestry. For some people, blood is more important than anything else. Word of your connection to that bastard Podarkes could have jeopardized your new position as Archon and you had the potential to be the best thing that could have happened to the Silver Islands.”

“She knew my mother? But How?” Kyra asked eagerly. She wanted to know everything, needed to hear more about her mother.

And Nike delivered.

“Your mother, Dianthe, worked as a servant for Podarkes, and he occasionally took her on business trips to Delos, she was still very young when she and mother met. When Dianthe got pregnant, she confided in mother and mother’s advice was not to tell him that it is his child, just as she kept me a secret.” Nike glanced down at their hands, laying on the bed so close together now.

“But Dianthe didn’t listen and when she revealed the truth to him he threw her out. It wouldn’t give a very good picture of his precious family if the Archon were to sire a bastard child with a servant,” Nike said, bitterly.

“Your mother was not satisfied with that, she went to him again, pleaded with him and he arranged a residence for you both, sent her money regularly as long as she left him alone. But poor Dianthe was hopelessly in love with him and pressed him over the years again and again hoping that you could all be a family. At some point, however, it became too much for him and after his warnings had gone unheeded… Mother had warned Dianthe time and again not to underestimate Podarke's threats,” she finished sadly.

They sat there quietly next to each other, looking down to the bed between them. Until Nike broke the silence by saying, “mother didn’t know that you had survived otherwise she would had taken you under her wing. But by the time she found out, you were already Archon.”

Her mother had known about Nike? If Kyra had only known maybe her life wouldn’t have taken such a tragic path, leading her to believe she had no family left.

“I’ve always wanted a little sister. Life was quite boring being the daughter of a healer on an Island where healers were forbidden.” Nike said with a tight lipped smile.

“That’s why you decided to have a _entertaining_ life as an adult?” Kyra teased gently.

They both laughed briefly. It was a welcome change to the gloominess that had filled the room.

“ _Us_. The one good thing Podarkes did in his entire life was _us_.” Nike’s words were tinged with confidence.

“Yes.” Kyra nodded firmly, because she knew he’d hate it. She stood up from the bed, adjusted her cloak and looked at Nike as she also got to her feet.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been so disrespectful and angry with you.” Kyra confessed, grimacing in shame.

“Oh that’s what sisters do sometimes.” Nike joked but then added in a more serious tone. “You have been through so much in your young life already. I can’t even imagine how hard all this must have been. You are so strong, Kyra.” Nike reached out for Kyra’s hands, took them in hers, squeezed them and smiled.

 

 

Kyra tugged at her bottom lip, she felt nervous, but happy. She hasn’t felt this blissful in a very long time.

“Give this bastard a kick from me when he’s kneeling on the floor bleeding out of his eyes.” Nike said, then let go of Kyra’s hands.

Kyra gave a lopsided smile before she reached for a heavy pouch on her belt and handed it over, "for the poison... and your missed earnings."

Nike took a step back, held up the flat of her hands. “No.”

“Please? I can imagine Rhea will be mad if she hears you’re giving away her precious poison collection for free.”

Nike sighed and gave in to Kyra’s wish. “The poison is on the house, but this will cover my earnings.” She winked.

Kyra had put her hood back on and was ready to leave. Nike escorted her the few steps to the door and opened it for her, turning to look at Kyra as she did. To her surprise the younger woman took her in a hug and whispered a soft “thankyou”, before releasing her. She gave a smile that reached her eyes then Kyra turned around and left.

 

 

The guards nodded a greeting when Kyra walked up towards the stairs that led up to the Villa’s forecourt. She nodded back with a polite smile and heard Orion’s soft greeting-woof as he waggled up to her. She leaned down and patted him on his flank before they walked along and towards the atrium.

The house was silent. The servants hadn’t set foot into the leader’s house since they had been ordered by the Archon to spend some days at home, on full pay of course. Savina was the only one who still had unrestricted access to the villa.

Reaching the stairway to the upper levels, Kyra’s belly was tingling with excitement. She had a sister. A wise big sister, and she could even have had a foster mother, a family, if she had just known. What would life had been like with Rhea and Nike? Would she had become a healer? At least she preferred this idea to the profession that her sister had selected. Kyra smiled at that thought.

Would she still have become Archon? Would she still have entered the rebellion? Would Podarkes even be dead then? Would Thaletas had fallen in love with someone else?

Would she had ever met Praxos? And what about Kassandra? They probably would have never met. It would have saved them all from so much grief.

But what if Podarkes had somehow found out about his offspring, would he have sent his men to kill them and Rhea?

She was eager to see Nike again soon and Rhea. She wanted to ask Rhea so many questions about her mother. What had she looked like. What she was like. Had she been a happy woman despite the circumstances?

Kyra felt fatigue overwhelming her and she couldn’t wait to lay down in her bed, even though she wasn’t sure she would find sleep easily with so many things racing through her mind.

First thing in the morning she would tell Praxos about this incredible revelation. She was eager to share it with him and if it hadn’t been so late already she would had gone to wake him.

When Kyra walked by Kassandra’s room she noticed the door was ajar, candle light flickered through. She heard Barnabas’ soft snore and smiled, she couldn’t help but imagine a fatherly Barnabas,worriedly nursing Kassandra. But just as she passed the door she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Kassandra gasp, then a short outcry of pain and her shouting in fear, “lion!”

Kyra went for the door and was about to enter when she watched through the gap how Barnabas jumped from his sleep and cradled the visibly scared woman, rocking her back and forth, stroking her head, and soothingly repeated, “He’s not here. He’s not here. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Kassandra was covered in sweat and her body was shaking. Her eyes still appeared glazed and far away, unaware of her surroundings, she was clearly barely conscious, still under the effects of the sedative medication.

Kassandra made a miserable picture, clinging to Barnabas like a small, scared child. Nike was right, she _did_ still care for Kassandra; but love? She didn’t feel love when she looked at her now, just pity. Kyra heaved a silent sigh, she needed to talk to Kassandra when she was back to being fully conscious and feeling better. Kassandra deserved to express herself and maybe Kyra herself would be able to make peace with her haunted past.

Barnabas’ caring voice shook her out of her thoughts. “You have to be terribly cold as sweaty as you are, let’s put you back under the blanket.” He pressed her steadily but gently into a supine position and then wrapped the blanket tightly around her shivering form. He stroked once more over her head and placed a kiss on her hairline. “You’ll be back up on your legs soon and you’re going to kick that bastard off a cliff, with me cheering and clapping next to you. That is if Kyra doesn’t kill him before you get the chance.”

Obviously Orion got impatient or bored standing outside the door and nudged it open with his big stupid head, Kyra thought annoyed, as she watched him walking up to Barnabas who looked at her in surprise.

“Kyra,” the old man smiled at her and waved her in, “we’ve just been talking about you.”

“We?” Kyra raised a dubious brow as she approached the bed, Kassandra’s eyes were half open and she stared vacantly onto a spot on the wall between Barnabas and Kyra. “Pardon me but she doesn’t look like she’s capable of courting even the dumbest ox in the whole of Greece right now.”

He grinned at her joky remark, “just because she doesn’t say anything doesn’t mean she’s not noticing what’s going on around her.”

The remark made Kyra's eyes wander over Kassandra again. What if Barnabas was right? She had closed her eyes, seemed to have fallen asleep again.

“It’s very late in the night. Where have you been, if I may ask.“ He inquired politely upon spotting the cloak she still wore.

“The best time to avoid running into Linos and his courting advances. I’ve been running some important errands.” Kyra stifled a yawn.

“Did these errands have anything to do with your plan to commit murder?” Barnabas asked curiously and then yawned, clearly infected by Kyra’s.

Kyra just smiled and then couldn’t prevent a wide yawn too. “Well, I better go to bed now before I fall asleep standing. I wish you a… quiet night, under the obvious circumstances of course.” She glanced at Kassandra as she bid him good night, then called for Orion who jumped up from his resting pose, walking over to his mistress.

Barnabas raised a curious brow. Kyra showed a conspiciously good mood, very likely because of her successful errands. But she’d also made a joke involving Kassandra. Up to this point, Kyra had avoided topics that involved Kassandra if they hadn’t been about her nursing. Refused outright to talk about her when he’d tried to start a topic involving Kassandra. He couldn’t put his finger on it but he noticed that something has shifted in Kyra’s demeanor.

Before Kyra left the room Kassandra stirred nervously and murmured “astéri mou”.

Kyra stopped, looked at her but Kassandra’s eyes were closed, her face twisted slightly.

“Don’t worry, she’s been murmuring things now and then in her sleep over the day.” Barnabas tried to sooth the concern Kyra’s face showed, but at the same time he wondered why she looked worried, since Kyra had witnessed this several times before. He was unaware that it was the pet name given by Kassandra to Kyra.

Kyra nodded at him and turned back to the door but before she was fully out she turned around and asked, “Barnabas? Has she…” Kyra swallowed, “has she ever talked about me since she left Mykonos?”

He gave a sad smile and he seemed about to speak up, but then his mouth snapped shut and worry etched his features as he looked at Kassandra. Rubbing his grey beard he was clearly considering if he would betray the sleeping woman by answering Kyra’s question.

“She did.” He said at last.

“What did she say.” Kyra tried to sound nonchalant but an eager note in her voice betrayed her.

“It’s not for me to tell you. I think Kassandra would want to tell you herself.” His face crinkled as he smiled sincerely.

Kyra bowed her head, trying to hide her embarrassment, “of course.” she said and then bid him goodnight.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case google doesn't offer the correct translation, which is quiet likely: astéri mou = my star


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While we are getting closer to Kassandra's awakening (soon my friends, soon) we take the time to look a bit more into Kyra and one of her past memories.  
> In this chapter I try to show that Kyra really loved Thaletas and that he was a likeable and good guy that even Kassandra saw as a friend. I hope I have archieved that. I would be happy if you could let me know how you percieved Thaletas. Did you like him in this chapter? Or did I miss to make him likeable and understandable? What did you like about the way I portrayed him and what not? or did you just feel pity for the poor fella? XD
> 
> i'm also very curious about what in general you liked about each chapter or character and what not. What you would like to see in the future or what I could improve. I'm always open for helpful critique. Don't be afraid on commenting. I don't bite, neither does Orion. Kyra maybe does if you don't comment at all ;)
> 
> Are you excited about Kyra's assasssination plot? Do you think she will succeed?
> 
>  
> 
> As always I have to thank my friend and betareader Doc Hoffman for her support, motivation, patience and help. We have archieved the friends status of 'lets-exchange-recipes' :D

**chapter 9**

 

 

 

"Good morning, Kyra." Barnabas greeted her, he seemed in the best of spirits, "I hope you slept well?"

"I did, very well in fact. And you?" Kyra asked as she entered the room followed by her loyal, four legged companion, Orion. "Did she let you sleep?" she asked taking in Kassandra’s sleeping form as she walked up to Barnabas.

"Yes, indeed! Come over, look at her. She is doing much better. The fever is almost gone, so most of the poison has to be outside now. She still sleeps like a baby though." Barnabas grinned to his ears and his voice was full of exuberant optimism. "I think she'll be hungry as a bear when she wakes up."

“Don’t forget what Rhea said, no solid food until tomorrow.” Kyra reminded him blandly, she wasn’t keen on mopping up any more vomit.

Barnabas gave a rumbling laugh as his mind conjured up a memory of a hungry Kassandra, “yes, yes. Let’s hope she sleeps through till tomorrow then, because she isn’t exactly terrific company when she’s hungry.”

"Is she taking the medicine well?" Kyra inquired. Since Barnabas had arrived yesterday he and Savina had been taking care of Kassandra most of the time. Despite not having been taking care of her responsibilities as Archon since they rescued Kassandra, Kyra also hadn’t spent any time nursing her, since that terrible first night. Praxos had forced her to catch up on some sleep, which her body had actually desperately needed, despite her stubborn head thinking otherwise. Then when she had woken up after sleeping for the whole day she had paid Nike that late night visit. Upon returning home after a very stressful and uncomfortable conversation she had been totally exhausted and went to bed again after a short chat with Barnabas.

But the talk with Nike had also revealed something incredible she remembered, something that made her smile whenever she thought about it.

_I have a sister. I have a family._

Barnabas was sitting on the bed, his gaze flicking nervously between the door and Kyra as if he was expecting someone. "So far, she is still not fully present and I always mix some wine with it, as Rhea recommended. Doesn’t taste so horrible that way.”

Kyra raised her eyebrows skeptically, her face revealing her astonished disbelief. "You tried the stuff?"

"Well, I wanted to know if it really does tastes like piss and ashes, as Nike claimed. She exaggerated, a bit." Barnabas stood up,"but since we're talking about pee, I need to pee something fierce, Savina is still in the kitchen and I don’t want to leave Kassandra alone. Would you be so kind and look after her until I’m back?"

"Savina is already here, so early?" Kyra turned her head to the door in surprise as she spoke to Barnabas. “Yes, of course! Go.”

“Barnabas?” The old man turned back in the doorway when he heard Kyra calling him out.

“Would you take Orion down with you please, let him do his morning business? He usually goes to the pasture on his own for a stroll. You can leave him outside unattended, he knows his way around.”

“Of course. Come here buddy.” Barnabas slapped his thigh and the old man left the room with Orion. Kyra heard his claws clacking as they made their way down the steps and then she sat down on the bed and observed Kassandra’s sleeping form closely.

Kassandra’s lips were slightly open and the corners of her mouth curved just a little, at first glance it almost looked like she was smiling. A strand of hair that had come loose from the confines of her braid, stuck to her forehead and Kyra pushed it gently to the side with the tips of her fingers.

She looked much better than the day before; she had only a little sweat on her body and the way she lay there seemed much more peaceful and less pained. There was no sign now of that scared, painful face she had shown last night in Barnabas’ arms after she had woken from a nightmare.

Kyra recalled the moment when Linos had kicked Kassandra off the cliff and the horrific event that followed, as she looked at her bandaged shoulder.

Kassandra hadn’t deserved any of this, even if she was responsible for Thalethas’ death. “If only I had told you of my concerns about Linos.” She said, regret evident in her voice. But she hadn’t and Kassandra had paid a painful price.

Kyra recalled Kassandra's terrified scream, remembered how her mother had also screamed in anguish. Kyra blocked the thought but the image of the lion biting into Kassandra's shoulder and yanking her around like a ragdoll, unfolded mercilessly in front of her eyes. This memory produced the next one in which Thaletas' disfigured and ghastly face stared lifelessly at her when they had found his body on the beach.

Was this the punishment of the gods because Kyra had toyed with two hearts?

She should have listened to Kassandra after the night they had sex on the beach. She should have told Thaletas immediately, but she was so scared of hurting and losing him and his combat support. She had kept delaying it until it had been too late.

Why did they both have to fight over Kyra? Kassandra and Thaletas had gotten along so well, except for the one time at the festivity but even then, that had been Kyra’s fault, she remembered.

 

 

There was laughter and people dancing next to the bonfire at the Spartan beach camp.

Thaletas had asked Kassandra to help him weaken Podarkes’ troops on land and on water. It had been a complete success and therefore a victory celebration was held afterwards to mark the Eagle Bearer and the united forces of the rebels and Spartans managing to weaken the Athenian forces on and around the Silver Islands.

One of the ibexes Kyra and Kassandra had hunted was roasting over the flames, it filled the air with a mouthwatering smell.

Rebels, Spartans and the crew of the Adrestia were singing to the tunes a Spartan soldier played on a lyre. Others sat around the bonfire, drinking and waiting for the ibex to be done.

"The guy was even bigger and broader than Praxos-" Barnabas said as he leaned down to Thaletas to refill his wine cup.

"No. He was just ... fat! "Kassandra interrupted him gently, then quickly emptied her mug to hold it out to Barnabas.

"Well, that fat guy had a huge spiked mace, and Kassandra had only a tiny dagger-"

"Normal sized dagger." She corrected and thanked him with a nod as Barnabas also refilled her mug with wine.

"Do you want to tell the story?" The old man growled disapprovingly and then filled his own cup. However, when half of the wine missed his cup, splashing onto the ground between his feet, he decided to drink directly from the amphora before settling back down to Thalethas and Kassandra.

"No, no. Go on, I'm just making sure you're not giving me me wings or glowing eyes again."

The two young Spartans laughed heartily and loudly but stopped quickly when Barnabas glowered at them indignantly.

Thaletas cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound serious, but the suppressed laughter shimmered through as he spoke, "Please keep telling the tale Barnabas I enjoy your version more than Kassandra's boastful retellings."

Kassandra gave a disapproving _pffh_ noise and said, “at least I _have_ heroic stories to tell, not like a certain small wannabe Polemarch, who just inherited the title because his Polemarch drowned on the far shore of Mykonos,” she took a big sip from her mug. “Help me to remember Thaletas, how many Spartans do you command? Twelve is it?” She snorted and couldn’t help a gleeful grin escaping her when she saw the young man pouting before he turned his head away.

"I will tell her that you have told me that she can grow a phallus to please her female admirers if you don’t continue, Barnabas.” The young man whispered loud enough towards Barnabas for Kassandra's ear to catch.

"What?" Squawked Kassandra surprised and choked on her wine so much that her face went deep red and the wine ran out of her nose as she coughed incessantly and made grunting noises like a pig.

Thaletas fell on his back and writhed with laughter at the sight of the mighty Kassandra fighting for air on all fours.

Barnabas gasped in shock, then put on the most sincere and serious face he could muster up, looking at Kassandra without blinking “I swear I _never_ ever said that.”

After recovering Kassandra waved a dismissive hand and wiped the wine and snot clear from her still red face. She coughed one last time then glowered sportingly at Thaletas, “I’m pretty sure Kyra would leave you immediately if she were to lay her eyes on my impressive _lady killer_.”

Kassandra’s smug smile grew wide when she saw Thaletas’ shocked expression that then quickly turned into a scowl. “You leave my lovely wife out of this Eagle Bearer or I’ll have to-,” Thaletas unintentionally interrupted himself with a loud, heavy burp. “Oh god, is that wine fermenting?” he rubbed his belly, looking a little unnerved.

Kassandra laughed, patted his shoulder “That, my friend is a sign from Dionysos himself telling you you should take it easy with the next cup.” She took his half empty cup out of his hand and set it aside to replace it with a fig. “There, get something solid in your belly before you drink more.” Then she added in a teasing voice, grinning cheekily “You won’t be able to get your little man up to satisfy Kyra tonight if you are too drunk.”

Barnabas supported Kassandra’s suggestion upon seeing the frown on Thaletas face. “She’s right, unless you want to throw up in front of your lovely Kyra you should take it slow.”

Kassandra nudged Thaletas’ shoulder in a friendly manner but when his posture slumped a bit she hugged him with one arm, patting him encouragingly. “No need to be glum my young friend. I’m sure you’d outdrink me if you had only had time to practice but I know that you had your hands full fighting for Sparta.”

Kassandra felt pity when she thought of Thalethas’ upbringing. She knew that every Spartan boy was denied an ordinary childhood, having to go through the agoge, being raised with one aspect in mind, to fight and die for Sparta. Only the heirs apparent of the two Spartan royal households were exempt from the process.

Even though she hadn’t known him for more than a few days she felt protective of him, like a big sister. He was still young and the corrupt Spartan upbringing hindered him from experiencing the world with his own eyes and heart.

He turned the fig around in his hand, studying it closely and said in an almost whisper “Kyra has my love, but Sparta owns my heart,” but when the young man set his eyes on Kyra they lit up and he admiringly said, “look at my soon to be wife. She’s even showing the men what’s what, even when it comes to dancing. A woman who is truly made for a Spartan.”

They watched Kyra trying unsuccessfully to teach Praxos some dance moves. While the big man looked annoyed at his own failures Kyra was definitely amused like the rest of their audience.

“You don’t often find a woman like her. Strong-minded, cunning, she’s deadly accurate with her bow and a true beauty; you can call yourself lucky Thaletas.” Kassandra complimented the young Spartan.

Thaletas eyes sparkled with pride at the misthios words then fixed his eyes on Kyra as he took a bite from the fig and then raved, “so strong, beautiful, dangerous, stubborn, my wily minx.”

Kassandra chuckled lightly, “do you think you are up to her?”

“My friend, not even Ares can handle her fiery nature.”

“I could.” Kassandra answered smugly.

Thaletas threw the half eaten fig at Kassandra, then bolted up, swaying and adjusting his stance before he made a fist and shouted in an overly dramatic but still playful tone, “do you want to challenge me for Kyra, mighty Eagle Bearer?”

Kassandra grabbed a slim piece of firewood as she got to her feet and shouted back, “Yes, indeed! She is truly worth losing an eye and a leg.”

Thaletas also grabbed one of the slim pieces of wood and started attacking her, making a sorry attempt at a swift step forward that Kassandra evaded easily. Thaletas was no match for Kassandra, and certainly not in his drunken state but she had no intention of making a fool out of him in front of the crowd that had gathered around them, especially since Kyra was one of them. She was rooting for her boyfriend, as was half of the crowd, the other half cheered for the misthios.

Thaletas circled Kassandra and moved in for another blow, there was a loud whacking noise when their pieces of wood clapped against each other. Leaning heavily into each other they tried to push one another backwards with the weight of their bodies before Kassandra made a quick step back to gain some power just to make a powerful shove and pushed Thaletas a few feet away.

The misthios grinned when the young man struggled to keep his balance after stumbling backwards.

Thaletas scowled darkly at her, then raised his chin and grinned back, “People fall at my feet when they see me coming!”

“Even before they smell your breath?” Kassandra mocked laughing, then turned her back on him raising her arms from her sides, beckoning her cheerleaders to cheer louder, which they enthusiastically did. She grinned wolfishly as she looked about the crowd until her eyes met Kyra’s. Her grin transformed into an apologetic smirk as she caught the pleading look in Kyra’s eyes.

Kyra knew Thaletas was no match for the Eagle Bearer, especially not in his intoxicated state. And even though their fight was only in fun she knew that his Spartan pride would take it as a humbling defeat once he was sober.

The misthios winked at Kyra, tilted her head just enough to register Thaletas’ next charge and as he made it she turned around swiftly, blocked the blow but discreetly allowed him to knock the wooden weapon from her hand. She waited for Thaletas to readjust his stance and just then made a deliberately clumsy attempt at grabbing him, much more slowly than she was capable of. Slow enough for him to react and sweep her feet off the ground.

 

Kassandra remained lying, held her hands up in defeat when Thaletas pointed his stick towards her. “You fought well my friend.” He said victoriously and threw the stick into the fire then held his hand out to help her up.

Kassandra dusted the sand off her armor, giving a slow, pleased smile when Kyra jumped and swung her arms around Thaletas. Kissing him hard, “My hero, you defeated the mighty Eagle Bearer.”

They stumbled backwards and landed in the sand while the crowd dissolved. Kyra straddled her hero as he sat up, smiling proudly at him and his hands stroked up her back, pulling her closer, they exchanged soft kisses and mumbled sweet love confessions, disregarding their surroundings like only a young couple fresh in love could.

Kyra loved the tickling and soft scratching of his stubbly beard when he nuzzled into her neck. “I defeated the Eagle Bearer for you my love.”

“You did, and you shall be amply rewarded,” she whispered into his ear, catching his earlobe between her teeth tugging softly at it. Kyra felt his hands roaming her back, then making their way around her flanks and up to her breasts but she caught and stopped them before they reached their destination. Smiling at Thaletas she said in a soft and promising voice, “later, when we are alone, my love.”

Obviously, Kyra hadn’t put enough emphasis into her words for Thaletas tried again to cup her breast through the chiton, she grabbed his fingers forcefully, twisting them back just hard enough to sober him up sufficiently to listen to her. “What did I say?”

He looked up, realizing Kyra was dead serious despite her sweet smile, the only indication she was about to use force was the slight twitching corners of her mouth.

Thaletas had learned early, that despite her young age Kyra was a woman who answered to no one. It had made him furious at first but it was also one of her traits that appealed to him.

When she recognized his penitent look Kyra let go of his hands, cupped his face, gave him a soft kiss before leaning back and brushing her thumbs repeatedly over his cheeks. Smiling adoringly at him she said, “maybe we should leave soon.”

“Tonight I will love you like I did our first time and soon I will kill Podarkes. And when he’s dead I will make you my wife and make love to you every night until you bear me two strong Spartan warriors.” Thaletas raved with love and passion as he fastened his grip on her hips. Although he had only known Kyra for a few weeks, he was sure that he had found the perfect woman.

She bit her lower lip a little anxiously but smiled, Kyra hadn’t told him yet about what Kassandra had found out, that the monster Podarkes was her begetter. Moreover, despite Thaletas having spoken several times of making Kyra his wife and wishing for two sons, she had never told him that, as much as she loved him, she wasn’t ready for these two steps yet.

If they managed to overthrow Podarkes her first commitment would be to make sure that the new Archon would do justice to his duty, to the Silver Islands and their people. Before she could even think about starting a family she would make sure nothing like what had happened under Podarkes could ever happen again.

Another thing she hadn’t told Thaletas was that she wanted Kassandra to kill Podarkes. She was too afraid of losing Thaletas. She had seen Podarkes fighting, he was very skilled and powerful and only someone equally powerful or even stronger, like Kassandra, could stand a chance of killing him.

It would be best if he were to find out afterwards. Because she knew his injured pride would only cause him to make an illogical decision like rushing an attack on Podarkes. He was a good man but he lacked the level of reason Kassandra had. She was older, more experienced, level-headed and-

Kyra was torn from her thoughts as Thaletas gently pushed her from his lap. “Well finally! I was starving,” he said as he accepted the plate loaded with a steaming piece of venison from Barnabas. Kyra declined a offered plate and looked about the place, she couldn’t find Kassandra anywhere.

Kassandra had already been staying with them for a few days and Kyra found herself more and more drawn to the Eagle Bearer the more time she spent with her, talking, planning their next moves, or while they were on one of their hunting trips together or just by watching Kassandra sparring with others, it was the perfect opportunity to admire Kassandra's body without attracting attention.

Kassandra was a mesmerizingly attractive force, something that Kyra had never felt in anyone she had met before.

Even Thaletas was clearly fascinated by her beauty and charisma. It hadn’t escaped Kyra’s notice that he also peeked at Kassandra’s muscular legs or expressive face on more than one occasion.

She didn’t blame him at all. Who knew, maybe there would be a night that they could spend together, all three of them? After all the Eagle Bearer’s reputation was well known around the Aegean Sea.

Thaletas was busying himself with a full plate of food while Kyra approached Barnabas, asking him of the whereabouts of the misthios. The old man didn’t know, he shrugged his shoulders apologetically and Kyra decided to go look for her.

Her belongings were still at the spot where she had been sitting just a short time ago with Thaletas. She scanned the spot thoroughly and soon discovered footprints that had left deep imprints in the sand, they could only belong to a tall, heavy person. She followed them. They led away from the camp and off closer to the beach. After a short walk, the sound and sight of the merrymakers and music faded into the background.

Kyra enjoyed the quiet and the cooler, clearer air the closer she came to the water as she continued following the footsteps in the sand. She was startled when suddenly strange, tiny ones joined Kassandra's footprints. She had to crouch down to see them clearly in the dark since the moonlight was dimmed by the clouds. When she traced them with careful fingertips, she noticed that they were eagle feet. She smiled as she imagined Kassandra and the waddling Ikaros taking a walk on the beach while they were having a philosophical conversation. A soft piping made Kyra look up and she saw the silhouette of Kassandra sitting on a flat boulder a little further away, she was feeding Ikaros with small bites, he waited patiently and attentively standing next to her.

Either Kassandra hadn’t noticed her yet, or she wasn’t paying any attention to her, Kyra thought as she stood in the darkness, watching them in the pale moonshine. Ikaros' head turned briefly to Kyra, cheeped and then turned back to his mistress.

"He says it's rude to stare," translated the misthios without looking over.

Kyra smiled and started moving, "it's also rude to leave the party without saying goodbye," she countered.

As she reached the boulder, Kassandra looked up at her, "I had to get rid of the accumulated wine, and then this feathered lout urged me to feed him."

Kassandra switched Ikaros' treats from the left to the right hand and he hopped skillfully onto her lap and from there to beside her right side.

After taking his treat, Kassandra gestured with a hand, inviting Kyra to sit next to her, an offer that Kyra gladly accepted.

"Hello Ikaros," Kyra greeted the eagle, leaning over Kassandra's legs and stroking him around the neck as he stretched out his head towards her. She chuckled delightedly when he made a satisfied cooing sound.

Only when she felt Kassandra's breath on her ear, did she realize how close they had become as Kyra leaned her upper body over Kassandra’s legs in order to caress Ikaros.

Her breath was hot and smelled of wine and Kassandra's body heat was just as noticeable.

Slowly, Kyra turned her head to the right, but kept her bent pose, Ikaros long since forgotten as her eyes firstly met Kassandra's open lips with that sexy scar on the right of her upper lip and then her almost black eyes. Kassandra's pupils were so dilated that barely anything of the iris could be seen. Kyra swallowed and she suddenly felt incredibly warm as Kassandra tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowed and her closed mouth formed a smile that widened until she opened her mouth and licked slowly over her lips.

"Feel like feeding him?" Kassandra asked as she dangled a dried mouse in front of Kyra's face. Instinctively Kyra backed away, startled, a dead mouse right in front of her eyes was the last thing she had expected as she lost herself in Kassandra's intense gaze. As the moment of surprise passed, Kyra smirked and took the mouse from Kassandra without hesitation.

However, she lifted the treat with caution towards Ikaros, a little concerned that he might catch her fingers while snapping for it. Her slight nervousnessmade her hold the mouse higher than Ikaros could comfortably stretch which caused him to jump on Kassandra's right thigh and then push off forcefully to reach his food.

Ikaros snapped the mouse and flew off as Kassandra winced in pain and hissed, "You damned ruffian."

Kyra was also startled by Kassandra's cry of pain. Remorse overcame her as she thought back to what Kassandra had told her about Ikaros’ powerful claws, about how painful direct and unprotected skin contact could be. "By the gods. I am so sorry. Did he hurt you?" She asked seriously concerned.

Kassandra's pained expression was revealing enough, and the guilt Kyra felt was reflected in her face. She watched as Kassandra bent her right leg slightly and pulled up her chiton to examine the damage. In doing so, Kassandra revealed a very intimate view of her muscular thighs.

Kyra's eyes didn’t know where to look first; the crisp white of her perizoma against her tanned skin, the taut muscles of her inner thigh, the scar disappearing up into her groin as she wondered how she got it, drawing her gaze once again up to the folds of her perizoma. They finally settled on Kassandra's fingers, that were gently wiping the blood from what were luckily, only small puncture wounds.

"Not deep, but smarts like the sting of a scorpion." Kassandra said grimly as she pushed her chiton back over her legs, then looked at Kyra whose remorseful expression revealed how guilty she still felt. Kassandra tried to cheer her up with a smile but failed.

"I'm so sorry, I should have known-" Kyra began, but was gently interrupted by Kassandra.

"Hey, it’s all right, no real damage done. I still have every piece of my glorious thigh that you seem to be so fond of." She grinned playfully and raised her eyebrows. Kassandra hadn’t missed how Kyra's eyes had wandered over her thighs.

Kyra felt the heat in her face and was glad that it was dark, hoping the weak light of the moon wouldn’t reveal her blushing. However, she could not prevent herself biting her lower lip, as she averted her gaze and looked out to the sea. She felt a little ashamed of the desire that had drawn her gaze to Kassandra’s bared thighs, but even more embarrassed that she had been caught looking.

Had Kassandra known just what she was doing? Had she been lasciviously displaying her thighs knowing, or hoping, that Kyra would look? Did she really care about her or was she just playing with her?

So far, Kassandra had been reserved and respectful, had even let Thaletas win when Kyra had looked at her pleadingly. Was it coincidence that Kassandra had disappeared the minute she shared an intimate moment with Thaletas?

The intense looks, the odd, teasing innuendo now and again, Kyra wasn’t sure but she had the feeling that Kassandra struggled with herself. Did Kyra think this because of her own internal struggle with her attraction to the charming Eagle Bearer? The Misthios seemed to be a person of honor and decency, and such a person would never press a wedge into an existing relationship. Still, she wondered how Kassandra would behave towards her if Thaletas didn’t exist?

Obviously Kyra had been silent too long, lost in her own thoughts because Kassandra cleared her throat and changed the subject, realising that Kyra wasn’t going to respond to her flirting, “we’ve done a pretty good number on Podarkes, what’s next on your plan?”

She mourned the missed chance, it would have been a good opportunity to find out just what, if anything, Kassandra felt for her.

Accepting that she had missed her chance, Kyra thought for a moment, tried to recall the upcoming steps of the rebels’ plan, "the next step would be to destroy the war supplies on Delos and plunder the nation’s purse. We do that and his soldiers will go on the run and his supporters will withdraw their support. Then Podarkes is as good as unprotected and he should be easy game for you to eliminate.” Kyra gushed with enthusiasm as she already thought about the outcome. What they had achieved in the last few days was more than they had managed in the last years. But her exuberant enthusiasm stilled when she looked at Kassandra’s flummoxed face.

“That is… of course, only if you-” Kyra stopped, took a steadying breath, clasped her palms together and began anew, “Forgive me. I didn’t want to give the impression that I had already planned you in without asking first.” Kyra sighed and her head hung low, there was nothing left from the enthusiasm she had just displayed before.

Kassandra tried to cheer her up by assuring her, “it’s okay. I know I said on my first day that I only came to help you kill one man, but I’ve realized since then, that his death alone won’t be enough to free the Silver Islands from subjugation.” But when her words had no effect, she asked, “what’s bothering you?”

“I just hope that this truly works out. It’s hard to imagine after such a long period of oppression and fighting that finally peace and freedom for all is imminent. So many good people have lost their lives.” Kyra fixed her eyes on her hand, that lay flat on the rock between her and Kassandra. The surface still radiated the heat from the sun that had charged the stone over the day.

There was a brief silence until Kassandra moved, turning her upper body closer to her, and placing her right hand on Kyra's. She looked up and into Kassandra's caring face as the misthios spoke, "together we will do it. Your people, Thaletas’ troop and the dream team of Ikaros and me," she finished with a little levity, which managed to elicit a brief smile from Kyra before her face was taken over by concern again.

"Thaletas wants to bring down Podarkes himself. I’m worried about him." Kyra admitted hesitantly because she wasn’t sure how Kassandra would take it. Would she understand or feel used?

"If you want me to kill Podarkes for you, you just have to say it. I'll do it without extra charge." Kassandra winked at her with a smile and stroked comfortingly over Kyra's hand.

Kyra nodded, thinking back to the conversation she had with Kassandra the night before, about revenge and forgiveness. She didn’t feel the urge to talk to Podarkes, didn’t need an explanation from him why he had her mother killed. He was a cruel man who ruled the Delians with a brutal and perverted hand.

"He deserves death but more so he deserves to know that he signed his own death warrant by having the mother of his child killed," said Kyra resolutely and looked at Kassandra insistently as she pronounced the last sentence.

Then she added, "and when the Silver Islands are free, my people and I will ensure that Mykonos and Delos are never subjugated again."

"I'll let him know," Kassandra confirmed, nodding. “Those are wise words…” she didn’t finish the sentence, but the way she voiced it, it sounded like there was a _but_. It reflected Kyra's statement from the previous evening.

"For a rebel?" Kyra finished the sentence, reflecting Kassandra's answer. A mischievous smile played on her lips before she thanked her. “I’m glad the gods brought you to our shores, Kassandra. We clearly wouldn’t have come so far with Thaletas’ alone.”

"Thaletas is a good man, a good fighter, but I understand your concerns, he is young and reckless. He lacks the experience and Sparta's indoctrination blinds him too much to make reasonable decisions."

Kyra looked at Kassandra's hand, which still covered hers. It was so much bigger than her own. Kassandra was so much bigger in every way; bigger, stronger and more impressive. She wondered how much power dwelled within those hands and arms.

Kyra turned her hand, curling her fingers so she tickled Kassandra's palm which made Kassandra angle her wrist upwards. Kyra turned the back of her hand back up; so that both their hands were facing each other, and spread her fingers, drove them between Kassandra's, now loosely entwined she pushed slowly, back and forth, up and down, paused, caressed Kassandras palm with her thumb a few times before she wrapped her fingers resolutely between Kassandra's and held her in a soft grip.

Kassandra had watched spellbound and willingly, if tacitly, allowed Kyra's fingerplay but didn’t take initiative of her own. Only when Kyra entwined and held their hands did she begin stroking Kyra's thumb with hers.

Both women looked at their entwined hands, as their thumbs danced with each other and didn’t let go of as they continued their conversation.

"You're Spartan too, why are you so different from Thaletas? In fact you’re different to any Spartan I’ve met?"

“I spent only a few years in Sparta and wasn’t raised with Spartan values and rules. My mind is free. I’m my own master.”

Hesitantly Kyra tore her eyes away from their entwined hands and up to Kassandra’s whose pupils were dilated again. This time she could see it even more clearly since the moon was no longer hidden behind clouds. Her breath caught as she lost herself again in Kassandra's intense gaze. "I have never met a woman like you before. You are truly ... fascinating."

Kassandra's tongue peeked out between her lips, lingered there, glistening in the moonlight but disappeared shortly after she had wet the middle of her lips. “So are you, Kyra.” The misthios admitted in a tender voice.

This time, Kyra was sure Kassandra saw her blush but she didn’t try to hide it instead kept looking at her. “You flatter me. I'm just a bastard child living on the street. You’re a living legend.”

"Kyra, don’t sell yourself short. You have self-confidence and yet are modest. You haven't allowed yourself to become discouraged by failures and setbacks, on the contrary, you learned from them. You fight right at the front with your people which earns you respect and loyalty. In comparison with you, Podarkes is not worth the dust beneath your feet."

Kassandra's words made Kyra's chest swell with pride but she still bit her lip while she couldn’t prevent a bashful smile sneaking onto her face.

For a moment they looked at each other, lost in each other’s eyes until the misthios lowered her head slightly, eyes narrowed. Kyra's pulse beat faster when Kassandra brought her hand to her lips, but before Kassandra could guide Kyra's finger to her lips she felt a slight resistance and immediately released Kyra's hand.

Kyra saw how Kassandra's expression appeared confused and ashamed before she spoke, "Forgive me. The wine sometimes weakens my self-control. Especially in the company of a pretty woman."

Kyra felt guilty, after all, she had initiated the fingerplay that had enticed Kassandra to act.

“Don’t apologize.” Kyra wanted to say more, that she was sorry, that it was her fault, that the wine also weakened her self-control but instead she raised her hand and slid it under Kassandra's chin, gently lifting it upwards to make her face her. They heard Ikaros’ soft piping above but neither of them paid it any attention as they were too entranced in their magic moment.

Kyra felt Kassandra's hot breath on her fingertips as she gently traced over her lips and Kassandra opened her mouth further as Kyra's finger pulled gently at her lower lip moving it slightly downwards. She felt the moisture of Kassandra's lips spread over her fingertips and then Kassandra pressed her tongue between Kyra's index and middle finger. Kassandra’s pupils have dilated so far that her eyes went pitch black.

"How dare you?" Thaletas angry voice thundered and shook both woman out of their shared intimate moment.

"You dare lay hand on my wife!" Thaletas stood, panting, a few steps away from the rock, frowning, his fists clenched when Kyra and Kassandra rose from the rock.

The boulder stood between them like a witness that remained resolutely silent.

Kassandra was visibly embarrassed and rubbed the back of her neck as Kyra raised her voice, "calm down, nothing happened, I just touched her face." She hoped he hadn’t been standing and watching them for some time, and accepted her half-truth. And indeed he seemed to believe Kyra's words as he pondered over them. Silently she released the breath she had been holding, relieved that the situation didn’t escalate.

Kyra was already halfway around the rock to bring her friend back to the camp when Kassandra thoughtlessly made a joke, "and there goes your chance of an unforgettable threesome. Though, on reflection maybe that's better, you remember; my lady killer versus yours, no chance."

With a quick leap, the young Spartan jumped past Kyra, onto the rock and landed in front of Kassandra in the sand, he drew himself up in front of her and although he was smaller than her he made an remarkable impression. Thaletas was furious and apparently still intoxicated, not only from the wine but also from the previous victory against the Eagle Bearer.

Kassandra saw him shifting his weight to his back leg, turning his upper body slightly off, clenching his fist and then launching a quick punch.

Thaletas was convinced she wouldn’t notice his plan before his fist hit her, the surprise was plain in his face as Kassandra gripped his forearm with ease as he lunged for her. She hadn’t even flinched, just stared admonishingly at him.

He tried to pull his arm away but Kassandra kept a hold of it without any struggle. She took a step towards him, roughly pulled him closer and let him feel her superior power by squeezing his forearm. For a split second she could see the fear in his eyes before he hid it behind his glower.

"Stop it!" Kyra squeezed herself between the two Spartan cockerels, pushed them apart and snapped at Thaletas, “what is wrong with you? How can a polemarch be provoked by a stupid joke?”

Thaletas took a step back as the furious woman put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a dark scowl. He shuffled his feet uncomfortably and looked down at them as Kassandra gloated at him from behind Kyra.

Suddenly Kyra turned around and snapped at Kassandra, “and who do you think you are?” she pushed her back.

The Eagle Bearer tried to explain, “He was the one who attack-”

“No!” Kyra cut the air between them with a raised finger. She wasn’t willing to listen. She was furious, with herself, and at these two fools. She had had everything under control until Kassandra had needlessly provoked Thaletas.

“Kyra, you can’t-” Thaletas now tried to talk to her too, stepping forward which provoked Kassandra to step forward too and interrupt him, “Be quiet when the grown ups talk.”

And suddenly the two Spartans shouted at each other with Kyra between until Kyra took a deep breath and yelled, “Shut. Your. Gob!”

And instantly everything was quiet apart from the shallow waves that hit the shore.

Kyra’s brows snapped together and she scowled at each of them before her reprimanding voice burst forth, “some friends you are, beating each other. Go ahead, but don’t either of you think I’ll jump around the winners neck. I’m no one’s trophy and no one’s wife!”

And with that said Kyra stormed off.

\------

 

 

Kyra was torn from her memory when Savina entered the room and greeted her, “Good morning, Archon.”

The blonde woman bowed her head in apology and corrected herself, “I hope you slept well, Kyra,” upon seeing that Kyra didn’t wear her Archon laurel.

Kyra looked over her shoulder before she got up from the bed and came to meet her assistant, greeting her with a hug and a warm smile.

It was a rule the Archon had established early on with her close employees that they should call her by her given name whenever she wasn’t wearing the laurel, which was the official sign of the Archon. And even though the original Archon’s laurel had been made of gold and ornate with gems she insisted of wearing one made out of the real bay tree.

 

“Did you had breakfast already?” Savina inquired holding a plate with fresh bread and some goat cheese. “I’ll serve you a plate too.” Savina looked about and when she found Barnabas missing she contemplated and offered, “I actually brought this for Barnabas but since he is absent, please eat.” Savina pushed the plate into Kyra’s hands and went over to the bed to quickly check if everything was fine with Kassandra.

At first Kyra was about to object when Savina pushed the plate in her hands but when the smell of the still warm olive bread reached her nostrils she moaned hungrily and took a bite.

Savina chuckled as she heard her boss moan in pleasure. “Gods Savina, did you bake that?” The Archon mumbled between bites.

“Kittos.” The blonde woman answered a little proudly, “When I told him that your kitchen servant is indisposed momentarily he decided to bake some for you too.”

“Aww, Savina what would I just do without you?” and then quickly added, “and your fiance.”

A chuckle escaped Savina before she checked Kassandra’s pillow and blanket, made sure the misthios lay comfortably and was tucked in warmly. “I’m sure you would do very well even without me. After all _you_ were the one who rescued _me_ from that slave ship and not the other way around.” She said as she tucked the blanket neatly under Kassandra’s left flank, then straightened and met Kyra with a grateful expression, “I’ll be in your debt forever.”

Kyra set the plate aside and walked straight up to Savina, took her by her shoulders, looked her straight in the eyes. “No you don’t! And even if you believe that and I know you do, because I know you. I want you to know, that after what you did for me yesterday, with Linos. You don’t owe me anything. We are even.”

Savina’s emerald eyes looked down between them, she was visibly touched.

“Okay?” Kyra inquired, bowed her head to meet Savina’s eyes and when her assistant looked back up she nodded. Satisfied Kyra let go of Savina’s shoulders and went back to empty her plate. She moaned again as she pushed the last piece of bread and cheese into her mouth, after gulping it down she said “Please tell Kittos if he’s ever in need for a new job I’ll gladly take him in as my personal baker.”

“I will, thank you.” Savina gave a polite nod.

“You have been truly blessed with this man. He doesn’t have a brother by any chance?” Kyra winked, making sure Savina understood this wasn’t a serious question.

“He does but he’s already married.” Answered Savina, amused.

“Uh, such a shame.”

“Oh, I almost forgot while you were sleeping yesterday a few petitioners requested audition which the guards as per your order denied, but I managed to note down their pleas and complaints, you’ll find the reports on your desk. I told them that you’ll be available and reporting back in two days again since I don’t know what’s your exact plan tomorrow but I’m sure you need the Villa empty?”

The discomforting undertone in Savina’s voice didn’t escape Kyra’s attention. She understood that while Savina has witnessed Kyra killing men the day she had saved her from the grasps of slavery and worse, she knew that those had been necessary kills, she had been defending them from being attacked.

In the early days of her Archon leadership she had gone on a bloody clean-up campaign to get rid of all the criminals that had worked under Podarkes regime, that had been the last time that Kyra had to make use of her own weapons. She hadn’t had to take anyone's life in over two years. That wasn’t the job of an Archon, she had soldiers for that now. So Kyra did understand that Savina was confounded about her plan to personally kill Linos.

“You understand why I have to do this, don’t you?” She tilted her head, inquired, concern edged in her voice.

Savina avoided her eyes. “I think I do. I just wonder if you really have to make yourself a murderer because of him.”

“Savina, you do know that I haven’t always been the woman I am now. I’ve killed and robbed many men. I’ve had to, to fight to survive. And Linos is a great danger to many, not just to Kassandra, and to us because we hide her. He is with the Cult and these people do terrible things all over the Aegean Sea. Podarkes was with the Cult too and you know what he did to the people of the Silver Islands. And I will not shy away from personally taking someone's life when it comes to the safety of the people I'm responsible for. I swore this to myself before we overthrew Podarkes.”

Savina nodded, her face lit up a bit, now that Kyra had given her more understanding of her motive.

Tomorrow Linos would come and Kyra had already made scrupulous plans, precise down to every little detail on how to lure him into her spiderweb. He would succumb to her temptation like a moth to the flame. His wings would be burned before he even realised that they were gone.

“Please Savina, make yourself see a full and honest picture of the person I really am. I don’t want you to suddenly see me as a monster because you only really know me as the Archon or you don’t want to see the truth. I could be a pretty vicious beast in my early years.”

Suddenly Savina blushed and clutched her hands to her chest. "Oh, I know. Barnabas has told me some stories from your rebel days, even though I bid him not to, he was adamant on telling me.”

Savina looked at the door before she continued, to make sure they still were alone, “but just between us, I think he likes to decorate the truth. He also said Kassandra owns a horse with wings and that she ripped out the eye of a Cyclops with her bare hands."

Kyra was laughing heartily, “that sounds like Barnabas alright. His stories should always be met with a healthy dose of skepticism."

"He also said that you drank him and Praxos under the table." Savina admitted sheepishly then looked over her shoulder at the misthios and continued in a low voice, “and that you threw a dagger at the Eagle Bearer’s nose and she deflected it by just using her eyes.”

Kyra looked up at the ceiling and turned her head in a half circle, from one shoulder to the other as she drew out the first word “yes. That … happened. Although I missed on purpose.”

Savina looked a bit sceptical at Kyra’s last words and took another quick look at Kassandra. She was still whispering when she asked Kyra, “Do you think… she is the child of a god?”

“Savina, do you remember how much blood we wiped up from the floor?”

Savina nodded briefly but there was still a frown of scepticism visible.

“Gods don’t bleed, right? She’s just a very strong and skilled fighter who stands in the favor of the gods.” Kyra continued to offer a logical explanation.

Savina was clearly processing that information then gave a slow long nod.

“Ah Savina, my favorite nursing assistant is finally back.” Barnabas rumbled delighted upon seeing the young woman.

Savina blushed and Kyra glared admonishingly at him as she put her hands on her hips. “ _Your_ Assistant?” She raised a brow.

The old man ducked his head sheepishly but grinned, his good eye switched between both woman several times, “Oh, if you need her for important Archon duties I’m sure I can take care of Kassandra alone. At least most of the time. It’s just a bit tricky to get her to pee with only two arms instead of four.”

“It's up to Savina if she wants to help and assist you.” Kyra looked at Savina over her shoulder, waited for the woman’s decision and when Savina nodded Kyra moved towards the door but turned around before she left the room and said in a quietly authoritative voice, “just don’t tell her fairy tales if she asks you not to. And certainly not if I happen to be in them. Unless it’s about me drinking you under the table." Kyra winked as she opened the door, “If someone needs me, I’m in my office going through the reports,” and then left the room.

Savina watched Kyra leave, feeling a swell of admiration for the young Archon. She was working so hard and bearing up so strongly under the crushing pressure of the past few days. Savina had no idea how she was managing to keep things under control, to keep her emotions in check as well as she was doing.

Hearing Barnabas murmuring quietly to the sleeping misthios Savina turned, took a deep breath and steeling herself for another day of checking dressings, administering Rhea’s medicine, emptying pots. It was difficult now to remember what life had been like just a few days ago, before the grinding routing of the sickroom. But every day, Kassandra improved a little and she was clearly, somehow, important to Kyra. And what was important to Kyra was important to Savina.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preperations are made for the evening when Polemarch Linos is invited for a private supper with the Archon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a long 3 or has it been 4 months already of deadlock I am here to tell you that chapter 10 is finally done.  
> Actually I wanted to write a longer chapter that includes Kyra's meeting with Linos but due the fact that you all had to wait so long and I was so excited that I finally got back into writing again :D  
> I didn't want to let you wait any longer. So here is half of the actual chapter and the next one hopefully follows in a couple weeks.  
> Also pls excuse my lack of background accuracy of the provided image for this chapter. Knowing myself I probably will change it sometime in the future to a fitting background.
> 
>  
> 
> As always thanks to my always amazing and supportive beta Doc Hoff who was "ankles deep" responsible for a good laugh ;)
> 
> Oh and a trigger warning for “brief mention of sexual viloence” in this chapter !

 

 

 

The following morning Kyra sent a messenger to Polemarch Linos to deliver a message telling him that the Archon desired his presence at sunset to celebrate the victory over the Athenians at an intimate supper.

At the same time she had sent Praxos to bring her sister to her with everything that was needed to make Kyra look pretty and stylish for tonight. Kyra had expected that Nike would bring some cosmetics, perhaps a dress or two but when she watched Praxos as he carried a medium-sized wooden box up the stairs, she was staggered. She gave him a guilty smile as she held the door to her bedroom open for him.

"It looks heavier than it is." Nike assured her sister as she entered the room behind Praxos.

Orion raised his head and bristled a little, hackles raised as Praxos and the strange woman entered the room. A quick look to his mistress showed him that there was no danger from the stranger and he was satisfied, he put his head back between his paws and dozed off again.

Nike thanked Praxos politely and said, “visit me sometime at Mikis’ tavern. The next amphora of ale is on me.” After he’d put the box down in front of the bed, there was an audible pop coming from his back and a sigh of relief when he stretched his upper body. 

“Your sister doesn’t believe in packing light. If you ever invite her for several days make sure you send her a donkey cart.” he said, then made for the door, mumbling under his breath, “what is it with women packing half their garments when they go visit someone for one day?”

”It’s for every eventuality, Praxos.” Nike called after him before Kyra closed the door. Praxos heard both women giggle behind the closed door, he shook his head but smiled to himself as he walked away.

When he heard Kyra's door open again, he turned around.

"Out!" He heard Kyra's authoritative voice followed by a thud and then claws clacking over the tiles. With his head lowered Orion came towards him and as Praxos looked up he saw Kyra's head looking out from behind the door. "Have you given him goat cheese again?"

Praxos lifted his shoulders and hands up and said, aghast, "Of course not."

"Don't lie to me. He only farts when he gets goat cheese." Kyra scolded and closed the door.

"So, what are we going to do with you? A lustful bitch? A strict Archon? A mistress? " Nike asked as she circled Kyra and looked her up and down.

When she arrived back in front of her and Kyra looked at her with bewildered amusement, Nike laughed under her breath. Then inquired in a more serious voice, "what reaction do you expect from him with your appearance?"

"That he is driven by the desire to lie between my legs tonight as he does whatever I ask of him, without getting even the merest idea of questioning my actions."

"Your natural beauty does that alone, but with the right dress and a few tweaks you will have him eating from your hand." Nike said as she eyed her sister’s beauty appreciatively.

"I need to be sure he’s thinking with his cock only."

"That's easy! We'll pack you into a dress that shows so much bosom and leg that his imagination will be in full swing. He will literally undress you with his eyes, his mind will be busy with nothing else but imagining how you will look naked.” Nike said as she turned around, opened her box and pulled out a red garment and threw it on the bed without looking at it.

“Never allow him to touch you, however, always keep just enough distance from him that he cannot touch you without taking a step. This will give you enough time to react, dodge and forbid it. Most of the men who bear a commanding title like his actually like to be dominated by women. They get tired of making decisions and giving orders all day long. In the bedroom they often prefer to yield."

As she rummaged further inside she asked Kyra about how she planned to poison Linos exactly.

After Kyra had let her sister in on her plan Nike turned back to her and raised her brows, visibly impressed at the well thought out plan. A big part of her worries had subsided.

“That’s a very clever approach. The usual poisoned wine trick oftentimes fails because the victim notices that their would-be murderer is behaving oddly. Your nervous tension can often make you look or behave in a conspicuous way even without you noticing.”

Kyra had listened closely and wondered how Nike knew all this. “How many people have you poisoned to know that?” she quipped.

“Oh you wouldn’t believe how many of my customers’ wives have tried to poison them.” Nike laughed as she pulled a black garment out of the box, shook it out, looked at Kyra assessingly, shook her head and threw it next to the red one.

Kyra stepped closer to the box and curiously peeked inside. She saw a mess of clothes and several pots and bottles. Kyra remembered having seen more than one of these boxes in Nike's room, were they all full of those things? Had these things all been presents from customers, she wondered?

Her wandering eyes caught an object that was completely unknown to her. She eyed it curiously and pulled it out of the box to take a closer look. Even on closer inspection, nothing came to her mind as to what it could be used for. It was made out of leather and iron. Several straps were fastened to an iron ring that looked like something could be attached to it.

“What is this for?” Kyra inquired curiously while she turned it in her hand to take a closer look.

When Nike looked at her, brief surprise was reflected in her face, but changed quickly into a indecent smirk “Oh… this might be a little too advanced for tonight, dear. But if you want I can explain it some other time.” She ended her explanation with a clearly recognizable hand gesture just to make sure Krya got the point.

Her jaw dropped and Kyra had to force her eyes shut to keep the filthy images out of her mind. She had no interest in imagining her sister doing those kind of things with her customers. Unless… did she use it with Kassandra? The tiny voice in her head asked before she could stop it. No! certainly not. This wasn’t the time to think about these kind of things now anyway. The task at hand was more important.

“Let me take that.” Nike said, looking slightly apologetic as she took the object out of Kyra’s hand and placed it back into the box, making sure to keep it out of Kyra’s sight by stashing it below the garments.

Obviously Nike could read from Kyra's thoughtful face what was just going on in her little sister's head. She tried a tactful approach, “How is Kassandra doing?”

Unlike Nike, Kyra was sure she had turned red up to her hairline as she felt the growing heat rising in her face. She took a deep breath to cool her head down. And then answered with a casual voice, “She's much better now. The fever is almost gone. So far everything has happened as Rhea said it would. If it stays that way she will wake up tomorrow.”

Kyra's hesitation didn’t escape Nike’s observation skills.

“Does it make you nervous to know she's going to wake up soon?” Nike didn't know how much Kyra had been able to process from their conversation two days ago. How much she had managed to come to terms with her feelings for Kassandra and if she was ready to talk about it again.

“Did you two just talk when… when she was with you?” Kyra asked somewhat uncertain, avoiding Nike’s question.

Nike had tried to keep what had happened between Kassandra and her as vague as possible when she told Kyra about it. She was sure she wouldn't be standing next to her sister right now, had she presented Kyra with a detailed case the night she came asking for the poison. But now was probably as good a time as any to let Kyra know about it.

Kyra's stomach cramped as Nike gave a sigh and her eyes carried a hint of remorse.

“Kassandra was very drunk and very frustrated. I was barely able to stop her from starting a bar fight. While I accompanied her to her room I began to weigh up what she was capable of in her drunken state. You won't believe how often my clientele has fallen asleep before anything could happen.” Nike couldn’t prevent a chuckle escaping her but then continued in an appropriate voice, “She was so enchanted by our resemblance that she kept calling me by your name. Kassandra seemed torn between anger and desire. We kissed, she touched me; to put it in her words, she was knuckle deep inside me but something kept stopping her from kissing me, touching me. I'm pretty sure that was the thought of you. She stopped before she even really started. And then she fell asleep crying in my arms. We had a talk the next morning, not as heated as ours was but you weren’t the only one whose eyes I had to open.”

Kyra had crossed her arms defensively when Nike mentioned the ‘knuckles deep’ part and she cast her eyes to the floor when she interrupted Nike. “I don’t think I have the right to know what you talked about. I have heard enough,” Kyra’s eyes moved up to her sister’s while she kneaded her right biceps distractedly, “but thank you for your honesty.”

Nike made a step towards Kyra, stroking over her left upper arm, “I don’t want anything standing between us, Kyra. Please know that whatever upsets you come and talk to me, be honest with me, always.”

Kyra nodded a smile, feeling relieved after this talk and absently wiped her hands at her thighs when Nike answered with a sincere smile of her own before she bowed down to the box and then Kyra jolted slightly when Nike swiftly and unexpectedly turned back to her, holding up a purple colored peplos.

She tilted her head and held the dress in her outstretched arms in front of Kyra, sized up the dress and then looked at her sister’s face, beaming. "Perfect!"

Nike also tossed this dress on the bed but took the other two and stowed them back into the box. Then she took some of her accessories out of the box and put them down on Kyra's dressing table until it was cluttered with small bottles and pots.

“Just in case your plan doesn’t go as expected and you find that you need to improvise quickly, where do you intend to have the poison vial stashed?” Nike inquired, genuinely interested.

Krya opened her mouth but closed it again, at a loss for words as she realized she hadn’t thought of that. She had been so sure of her plan, it seemed, that it hadn’t crossed her mind to keep the little vial close to her in case she’d need to improvise. Kyra bit her lower lip and her posture sagged visibly but she was glad Nike had discovered the weak point in her plan before she’d actually embarked on it. “I have no idea,” she admitted.

“Okay, don’t worry about it we’ll find a solution to that.” Nike said as she turned to Kyra and bid her with a gentle smile , “Would the Archon please be so kind as to take off her chiton?”

Kyra took off her single shouldered chiton and laid it carefully down on the bed, then turned back to Nike, who stepped closer and reached for her sister’s hair, putting her soft locks back behind her shoulder to reveal her neck and bare shoulders. She took a step back to give her a once-over.

“Take your strophion off too, you can’t wear that under the peplos if you want to distract him with one of your best weapons.”

In the time Kyra loosened the knot and unwrapped her strophion, freeing her breasts, Nike stepped around behind her to reach for the hair band that held both side braids together, opening it and unbraiding her hair.

While Nike was busy unbraiding Kyra’s hair curiosity got the best of her, “Barnabas seems to be very fond of Kassandra. What do you know about him?”

“He is a good man, trustworthy, honorable. He was with her when she helped us with the rebellion. I trust him so much I told him about my connection with Podarkes and he advised me to be very careful as to who I should reveal this knowledge. Barnabas loves Kassandra like she is his own blood. He has been taking care of her nursing all the time. I’m so glad he is here.”

“I’m glad to hear that. There are only so many decent men who put love or respect over blood. I have met so many men and only a handful stood out as decent.”

“Were any of them special to you?” Kyra wanted to know.

“Yes, one. Theron. Mater met him when I was still small. They married, he loved me like his own. He died too young. A sickness not even mater could heal, he died before I reached womanhood. Who knows, maybe if he hadn’t died too early I might have chosen a different job.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you, sister. I’m fine, it’s so long ago. I hardly remember his face now.”

Making her way to Kyra’s dressing table she closed the box, then grabbed a bowl and took off the lid before setting it down on the box and beckoning Kyra to step closer. The smell of roses and berries reached Kyra’s nostrils as she sniffed curiously at the milky substance in the bowl. Nike took a generous amount of the milky cream into her hands and started rubbing the lotion onto Kyra’s shoulders and back.

“Now we make you smell like Aphrodite herself. Grab some of the lotion and start doing your front.”

“It smells incredible,” Kyra enthused, breathing in the pleasant fragrance rising from her skin after she started rubbing the lotion on herself.

“It will make your skin soft and glowing,” Nike breathed softly, close to her right ear as she slathered the back of Kyra’s shoulders with skillful fingers then let them glide down below her armpits, rubbing the last of the lotion down her flanks allowing her fingertips to gently graze the edge of Kyra’s breasts and once more breathed soft words into her ear.

“His eyes will be all over you and when he breathes in the scent of your skin as you allow him to kiss your hand, his mouth will water with the need to lick you up and down the entire length of your lovely body...” Just as her words ended, her hands had reached Kyra’s hips and the top edge of her perizoma.

Nike chuckled apologetically as she felt Kyra’s whole body stiffen and goosebumps rise on her skin. “Relax, sis, I had no intention of unsettling you with my sexual allusions. On the contrary, I just wanted to show you how easy it is to achieve what you desire. Just in case you find that you need to use the weapons given to you by Aphrodite.”

“You almost had me there,” Kyra admitted, feeling the heat rising in her face again. “I have to admit shamefully, you’re very good at what you do.”

“Why, thank you!” Nike squeezed her shoulders affectionately before she scooped up another handful of lotion with her fingers and gently slapped Kyra’s right thigh, indicating for her to put her foot up on the knee-high box to make it easier for her to apply the lotion to her leg.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll have mastered all the negotiation and diplomatic skills after twenty years working as the Archon.” Nike’s hands glided over Kyra’s firm thigh with strong strokes and down her calf, she then repeated the same process with her other leg while Kyra dispensed the lotion on her face, throat, chest and lastly across her breasts. She was fascinated by how quickly her skin absorbed the milky lotion and Nike had not exaggerated when she said her skin would shine. On closer inspection it looked like there was some kind of glitter shimmering as she turned her arms around several times, smiling in awe.

“Fascinating, eh?” Nike said, smiling to herself as she watched her enthusiastic sister inspecting her glistening skin. “It’s pulverised mother of pearl.” Nike explained, disclosing the secret.

“It’s beautiful,” Kyra gushed then finally managed to tear her eyes away from her skin and up to Nike, fixing her with a mischievous glare “and I’ll be very upset and pouting with you for the rest of my life if you don’t leave some of that for me.”

Nike laughed warmly, “alright, but use it sparingly. It’s very expensive,” she said as she put the lid back on the bowl and placed it a safe distance away from the remaining pots on the cluttered dressing table.

"Now let's take a look at how this peplos suits you." Nike said as she helped Kyra slip into it.

Without allowing Kyra to look at herself in the mirror, Nike gestured to her to sit down on the chair in front of the dressing table. She grabbed the hairbrush and put a couple of hairpins between her lips before she started combing Kyra's hair. After the last few strands were neatly untangled, she pinned sections of her hair low on both sides, behind her ears, so that Kyra's shoulders were not hidden in any way by her long hair.

After that she skilfully applied makeup to Kyra's eyes, cheeks and lips and sighed as she examined her finished work. “Enjoy your young years, they're passing faster than you can imagine."

"How can you be dissatisfied, look at yourself. I've hardly ever seen a woman of your age who looks so ... fresh."

"Wait until you do reach my age, you will quickly notice how the tautness suddenly wears off everywhere."

Nike's words made Kyra's mind wander, although it still felt a bit strange that her sister was offering sexual services, among other things, she couldn’t resist asking a question, "What are you going to do when you are old, I mean...you know ..."

"Don’t worry about it. There are enough men who have special preferences for that age," Nike winked at her sister and giggled as Kyra rolled her eyes.

"Are you ashamed of me? For what I'm doing? " Nike suddenly came out with a question Kyra had not expected.

For the first moment or two Kyra looked like she had been slapped left and right, then surprise took over, “What?” she glanced proudly at Nike and answered with a resolute voice, "No!"

Kyra got up and stared at her sister, for what felt like an eternity to Nike. Her eyes flickered between Nike's eyes back and forth and Nike saw several emotions flitting over Kyra's face.

Her eyes shone with tears and Nike watched as she blinked them away.

Kyra closed the gap between them and took Nike’s hands in hers before she said, "I ... I can’t even put into words how much I feel for you and what it means to me that you are here, that you exist,” her voice cracked but she kept talking, “that I have a sister, family. I just wish our paths had crossed much, much earlier." And then Kyra’s voice broke completely and she couldn’t stop the soft sobs escaping her.

Nike squeezed Kyra's hand in return, felt her own eyes watering up and pulled her little sister into a protective hug, “from the day mater told me, I always wanted to know my little sister and I’m so happy it finally happened.” Nike stroked Kyra’s hair until the soft sobs subsided.

She loosened the hug, cupped one of Kyra’s cheeks then added a smile on top and whispered, "That's enough, otherwise you'll move me to tears."

With wet eyes, both women shared a moment of embarrassed laughter. It was a new experience for both of them, although they hadn’t known each other for long and didn’t have a good start, they already felt a close connection to each other.

After the emotional conversation, Nike had to retrace Kyra's eyeshadow again and then Kyra was finally allowed to examine Nike's work in a mirror.

Kyra was astonished, Nike had done a great job in such a short time. She barely recognized herself in the reflection. The only make-up Kyra generally used was charcoal to darken her eyelids and thicken her eyebrows.

Nike had given her a completely new face, one that seemed to warn by sight alone to not get on the wrong side of the Archon but also projected a powerfully sexy look.

Kyra swallowed as she looked at her body in the garment. It was a rare variant of a dorian peplos, with a slit skirt that showed her thighs almost up to her hips and even more of them whenever she moved her legs, it was made of a thin and very soft material. A silky translucent belt with some chain elements hugged her hips and her neckline revealed much more than she was used too, it made her feel almost naked. The massive golden necklace weighted heavy but she also felt as though it gave her back a bit of her modesty.

 

Nike noticed Kyra's discomfort and reminded her again “Remember, keep enough distance from him so he can’t touch you without taking a step first, you’ll have enough time to stop him with a resolute ‘ _No!_ ’”

Kyra bit her lip and nodded, thought back to that one time in her youth where a resolute no hadn’t worked. To her luck Praxos had been there to prevent the worst. Maybe she should have Praxos keeping an eye on things in the adjacent room, just in case.

“Kyra? Are you really sure that you want to do this?” The concern in Nike’s voice was unmissable. She registered the fear and uncertainty in Kyra’s brown eyes. She knew that if they were identical twins she would offer to do this for her sister without a moment’s hesitation.

Kyra took a deep breath, raised her chin and the fear and uncertainty was replaced by settled conviction. “Linos will met Hades tonight. One way or another.”

“Just don’t underestimate him.”

“I’ll have Praxos keeping watch in the next room, just in case.”

“Okay, one problem solved, one left. Where are you going to keep the poison?” Nike posed the question as she looked Kyra up and down, then drew her eyes slowly back up, stopped at her cleavage and smirked. “We need the vial for a test run.”

As Kyra went to retrieve the vial from its secure hiding place she had a vague idea what Nike had in mind. She wondered if she was right in her assumption. If so it wouldn’t work because her breasts weren’t big enough and the neckline far too revealing.

Returning to Nike she was about to hand it out to her but Nike told her to keep it.

“Don’t be scared now,” Nike said as she closed in on Kyra and pulled the straps of the peplos down her shoulders, and with it the upper part of the garment, uncovering her breasts. This was definitely awkward, Kyra thought as she was disrobed by her own sister.

Standing bare chested in front of Nike, who seemed to ponder over something while her eyes were glued on her breasts Kyra still managed to form a casual sounding sentence out. “It won’t work.”

“It will.” Nike’s head snapped up, her expression serious, “if you’ll allow me.” Then Nike cupped Kyra’s breasts, pushed them slightly together so that there was no space left between them. “Now try to hide the vial between them and then try to pull it out again, carefully”

To Kyra’s surprise it worked flawlessly.

“Splendid!” Nike exclaimed with satisfaction and removed her hands. She went back to the dressing table, opening several pots while she listened to Kyra.

“Splendid? How? You can’t be there holding my breasts all evening, it would raise his suspicions as well as giving him a hard on.” Kyra remarked sarcastically.

Nike looked over her shoulder unable to hide the mischievous smirk, “well _that_ sounds like a plan.”

Kyra rolled her eyes, was about to put her upper garment back over her bare chest when Nike told her to keep it down before turning back to her pots, she was clearly mixing something together Kyra observed as she moved closer to look past her sister’s shoulder.

Nike was stirring what looked like a thick, translucent mass and began to explain seeing the curious glances her sister was giving her over her shoulder. “That’s taurokolla, it’s made of bullskin. Potters use it to repair broken pottery. Mix it with flour and water and you get this. An elastic mass that clings to the skin and is easily removable. It might be a bit painful to drag it off the skin, when you have lots of hairs on said part. But don’t worry, where we are going to use it you don’t have hair.”

Nike took a handful of the adhesive mass and stretched it until it was thin as a leaf and four hands long. “Cup your breasts, no not from below, use the front, push them together and hold still.”

Kyra did as she was told and watched as Nike attached the sticky, ribbon shaped mass below and around her breasts.

Nike instructed her to hold still for a short time until it had dried out. When she carefully let go of her breasts they remained pressed together. It was almost invisible due its translucency and after Kyra pushed the upper garment of her dress back up it wasn’t visible at all.

“Another test run.” Nike said and held the vial up.

 

 

When Barnabas exited Kassandra’s room he smiled to himself as he heard giggling coming through Kyra’s bedroom door. It sounded like the two women were having fun preparing Kyra for the later, not so fun, event. It was a very serious undertaking and he had been praying for Kyra’s safety this morning. And for Linos to suffer for as long as possible.

He waited for Orion to follow him out before he closed the door to Kassandra’s room. Praxos had told him that Savina required his assistance in the kitchen and that he would look after the misthios as long as he was gone.

The old man could already guess what his nose smelled before he even entered the kitchen. He gave a polite knock before Orion pushed the door open with his head.

“Ah, Savina this smells mouth watering. What’s for dinner?”

Savina gave a shy smile as she turned to look to Barnabas. But a second later she scolded the dog with a stern “No!” as he went up on his hindlegs to take a look and hopefully a mouth full of the meat Savina was chopping next to the stove.

“Don’t be so strict with the poor doggo. I’m sure he can have a piece of mea- Ouch!” Barnabas yelped and pulled his grabby hand away from the meat after Savina gave it a light slap.

“The Archon has strictly forbidden us to give the dog any food while it is prepared or eaten at the table.”

“Kyra was a lot more fun before she became Archon.” he mumbled under his breath. Savina was polite enough to overlook his remark.

“Praxos said you needed me?”

“Yes, please. If you would be so kind as to chop the vegetables that are on the table.”

“I’ll gladly assist you, my dear.” Barnabas got himself a knife and a big bowl, sat down at the table behind Savina and started chopping.

He wondered why Savina had asked for his help, she clearly had everything under control, there was enough time left to prepare the meal and not many vegetables to chop. He took a potato and began to peel it.This awakened old memories. Pleasant ones of him as a young boy, reminding him of a song his mother sang while he helped her out in the kitchen, he started to hum it and not long after Savina chimed in.

He found her humming sounded nicer so he stopped his own and just enjoyed the voice of Savina.

They worked quietly, Savina humming one of Barnabas’ favorite songs and he dared not interrupt this lovely sound after telling her. For a time it went on like this until a loud fart from under the table made Savina, eyes wide, turn in absolute disbelieve towards Barnabas.

“I swear by my remaining eye, that wasn’t me.” Barnabas said but got red straight up to his hairline under Savina’s accusing stare.

The real culprit was found right after both humans gasped and made an effort of covering their airways against the breath-taking smell. Guiltily Orion stepped out from under the table and was ordered “Out!” into the backyard by a very annoyed Savina. She decided to leave the door open for better air circulation.

When she came back to the stove Barnabas was already waiting there with the chopped vegetables asking for instructions on which pot to put it in.

“So which pot is the one for our beloved spartan Polemarch?” he asked while making the noise of pulling up snot from his throat.

“As much as I would enjoy watching him eat a stew with all our snot in, sadly Kyra is going to eat out of the same one so we can’t do that.”

“What a shame.” Barnabas said in disappointment and both laughed lightly at the thought of Linos praising the special stew. But then Savina’s face turned into a worried expression, staring deep into the boiling stew she said in a low voice. “I just hope everything goes as Kyra had planned and that it will be over fast.”

“Our prayers will help. I’m sure the gods are on our side, they have always been on Kassandra’s side. Look how quickly she has recovered. And Kyra is doing this not only for the safety of her Islands, I think we both know this. So the gods will protect Kyra because she is also doing this for Kassandra.” Barnabas said full of faith, stroking her left shoulder and mustered up his most confident smile for the worried woman.

“I won’t be here in the evening, how will I know if it all worked out? I don’t want to come here next morning just to find out that...” Savina couldn’t find the strength to complete the sentence. While Kyra had managed to make her understand the necessity of Linos’ fate and the motive behind it, she didn’t make her worry any less that something could go badly wrong and that Kyra would get hurt, or worse.

Savina was caught by surprise when Barnabas took her into a tight hug. “Everything will work out well. You just have to have faith.” He loosened the hug, took her by her shoulders instead and said, “I can come by later in the night and let you know if you want. Since you are worrying so much I can imagine you won't get a good night’s sleep anyway. Of course only until I come with the good news.” he beamed at her when she nodded.

Savina stirred the stew and Barnabas added the chopped vegetables, they fell into pleasant silence. But the old man still saw the concern in the woman’s eyes, he wished he could do more to make her feel better. His train of thought was interrupted when Savina spoke, “I’m sorry I dragged you away from looking over Kassandra, that was selfish of me. I know she means a lot to you.”

“Why selfish?”

“This house, it feels so cold, dark and eerily quiet without the servants and you have always been such a good source of distraction with telling me stories and casual talking. It’s not one of Praxos’ traits to have a nice chat and I was afraid of being on my own with my thoughts. So I asked him to send you down.”

“I understand and don’t feel sorry or selfish for that. I’m sure Praxos will look after Kassandra as well as I would or any other of us for that matter, and I’m glad to have someone to talk to who can answer me back.” Barnabas tried to lighten her mood up again and it seemed to work. He took a deep sniff from the stew and suddenly his stomach rumbled, protesting loudly to be filled which made Savina chuckle.

“Now! I think it’s time to taste the stew.”

“You will do that and I will set the table in the dining room.” She said and handed him the cooking spoon.

When Savina returned Barnabas had exchanged the cooking spoon with a large piece of bread. He was dipping it happily into the stew and his beard was more brown than grey.

When he saw her questioning expression he grinned sheepishly. Savina rushed over and was shocked to see how much the old man had already eaten.

“Don’t worry dear. It’s still enough to fill two plates to the brim.” He tried to downplay the disaster that it clearly was for Savina.

“But surely not enough for a hungry Soldier if he decided to have a second portion.” She countered disgruntled.

“I can't imagine him appreciating your cooking as much as I do.”

Savina turned to the table, grabbed the knife and snatched the bread out of Barnabas hand and replaced it with the knife. “In the basket are more vegetables,” Savina said sternly and pointed to the one by the end of the table then turned back to the stove and began to fill the pot with water and mashed tomatoes.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fasten your seatbelts, we are heading closer to Kassandra's awakening and Linos' fate. If everything goes as planned she will wake up in chapter 13.
> 
> Also let me know how much you (dis) liked the cliffhanger. HUEHUEHUEHUEHUE “ψ (｀∇´) ψ
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to my feline friend Pipo. May he rest in piece ฅ/ᐠ｡ᆽ｡ᐟ \
> 
> And last but not least, as always thanks to my beta Doc Hoff.

 

 

A soft knock on the door made Barnabas pause what he was doing and he turned his head towards the entrance. “Yes? Come in.”

Judging by the cautious tapping, he had expected Savina's face to appear. His eyebrows rose to his hairline in surprise as Nike's head peeked out from behind the door.

“Look Kassandra, we have a rare visitor.” He announced to the sleeping Misthios.

Nike smiled and inquired in a low voice, “may I come in?”

“Of course, come in.” He waved enthusiastically and set the cup, he had been holding back down onto the sideboard.

“We just had a nice dose of your mother’s delicious sleepy juice.” Barnabas answered and laid the blanket neatly around Kassandra's sleeping form.

“Are you here for her check-up?” Barnabas inquired after he straightened back up.

“No, I just wanted to come and see how she’s doing.” Nike said as she crossed the room and approached the bed.

“So much better since the first time you and your mother were here. Please give Rhea all my thanks.”

Nike crouched down next to her, reached out and took Kassandra’s big hand in hers. Caringly she stroked over her knuckles, remembered how strong and powerful it had been but now it was limp and unresponsive.

“I will, Barnabas, of course.”

“Oh and by all means my thanks goes to you as well.”

“Thank you, although I just assisted my mater. She is the healer in the family. I’m just her obedient assistant.”

“So you don’t intend on taking over her business?”

Nike laughed softly, “I’m sorry, no I won’t. There are more drachmae to earn in the job I practice now, especially on these holy Islands. And it’s definitely less dangerous.” 

“But I can give her a look over if you would like. It’s not as though I didn’t learn anything from assisting.”

“Yes please, it would calm me down if a trained eye could confirm that she’s doing better.”

Nike put Kassandra’s hand caringly back on top of her belly, watched as it moved up and down under her even breaths. “She is breathing steadily again, her skin color is back to its natural tone and her skin moisture seems to be back to normal as well.”

Barnabas looked a bit confused at the last part of the sentence so Nike explained it in simpler terms, “she isn’t sweating anymore. It looks as though the poison is out of her system.”

“The fever too!” He raved enthusiastically

“Very likely, yes. But fever is insidious, it can break out anytime again if a wound inflames.”

 

Nike pulled the lower part of the blanket up and gasped with surprise as she examined Kassandra’s thighs.

“That’s impossible! I mean, I know how well mater’s ointments take effect but this is…” Nike stroked with careful fingers over the fresh scars as if it would help her to convince herself that what she saw was actually true. The deep slashed wounds which had been left by the claws of the lion were already closed and new, soft pink skin had already closed the cuts.

“Kassandra's wounds heal faster than anyone else’s. I have seen it often enough. I tell you this is the divine blood that flows through her veins.” Barnabas explained with unmistakable pride in his voice.

Nike looked at him with a mixed look of astonishment and disbelief.

“You can look as incredulous as you want. I know what I saw, I have seen it more often and have seen more than anyone else.”

She wasn’t sure what or who Kassandra really was but she definitely wasn’t an ordinary human.

“This!” He pointed at Kassandra’s legs and then began to speak with such a conviction and enthusiasm that Nike listened spellbound.

“And the way she fights, her divine powers, her miraculous strength and blisteringly fast reflexes. The wisdom she brings with her at such a young age. Her kindness. The way she justs stands there looking out at the sea, so gracious but almighty. And you can feel it if you just look deep enough in her radiant eyes, you can feel her divinity.”

“You might be right, but more importantly than all this, is that she is doing well. I don’t think it’s necessary anymore to give her the detox or ‘sleepy juice’ as you are calling it but it might be better if she stays asleep as long as Kyra is dealing with her _guest_. So you can prepare for when she wakes up by tomorrow if you stop giving her the detox tonight. I suspect she will be very hungry.” Nike said, putting the blanket back over her legs as she sat down at the edge of the bed. Carefully she unrolled the bandaged shoulder far enough to have a clear look at the wound.

“But make sure she spends enough time in bed. Just because her legs are healed doesn’t mean she can jump around like a carefree child. Her shoulder is still open and from what mater taught me, Kassandra’s arm might have permanent damage or pain. If the wound doesn’t start closing on its own within the next four days it will have to be stitched up.”

Barnabas nodded and made a mental note, but he was sure that Kassandra’s body would work its usual wonders.

While Nike refastened the bandage she slipped into smalltalk, “Kyra mentioned you were born on Mykonos.” She leaned back and watched as the old man took a seat on the chair where he had spent most of the time during the last days watching over Kassandra.

“Indeed, I am. But as soon as I was able to walk I spent most of my time on the sea. The sea and the ships I served on were more my home than this island. Maybe I would have settled down here had Poseidon not parted me and my beloved wife on that fateful day when the towering waves shattered our ship.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. You have my sympathy.” Nike consoled but Barnabas held up a hand, signaling that he was fine. “Thank you. It’s a long time ago and then I would never have met Kassandra. The ways the gods impose on us can be long and arduous. I lost a wife but I won a daughter in return.” His good eye sparkled proudly at Kassandra.

“Kassandra clearly means a lot to you.”

“More than my own blood. But what about you? Don’t you also long for a partner? Praxos would be a good choice. You know each other, seem to like each other, if you allow me this remark.”

“He is truly, but his relationship with Kyra makes it difficult for him to feel more than friendship for me.”

“Oh! Of course. Forgive me my inobservance, I hadn’t thought about that. But I’m glad to hear that you and Kyra are on good terms now. Your first encounter wasn’t exactly a dance of joy.”

“It was a rough start indeed but we have sorted things out.” Nike chuckled lightly.

“You mean you have sorted out who Kassandra belongs to?” Barnabas smiled sheepishly at his jibe.

“That too. So if you truly want to play matchmaker you better get your head around how you get Kyra and Kassandra back together. But be warned, if Kyra finds out she'll make you a head shorter. ”

Barnabas's eyes widened, then he started a chuckling that also infected Nike. Together they laughed heartily until the door opened suddenly and Kyra's head popped into the room, “what’s going on here?”

“Nothing.” both answered simultaneously looking as guilty as one could look.

Kyra didn’t make any attempt to enter the room, only kept her head visible. She squeezed her eyelids into mere slits and looked at the both of them skeptically. “I know a conspiracy when I see it.”

“I was just talking about our beloved Pater.”

“Ugh!” Kyra grumbled disgusted and her head vanished behind the closing door.

They perked up their ears, listening closely to Kyra’s footsteps moving away until Kassandra stirred and Barnabas stood up from his chair to investigate what was troubling the sleeping woman but she went quiet immediately when he stroked over her forehead and down her cheek.

When he was sure that Kassandra was okay he resumed his chat with Nike. “Your relationship with Kyra was an even bigger surprise than finding out about her relationship to that scumbag Podarkes.”

“He might have been a monster but without him we wouldn’t be here.”

“And he managed to produce two lovely daughters that are the complete opposite of his cruel, evil nature.”

Nike had moved a bit further down the edge of the bed to give him more space as he knelt down in front of Kassandra, staying there holding her hand, stroking it gently. “But still he didn’t deserve any hand in the both of you.” He reflected wistfully as he looked at Kassandra sleeping peacefully again.

“It takes more than a few clumsy thrusts to be a father, Barnabas.” Nike told him as she put her hand over his affectionately and smiled warmly at him.

 

Nike and Savina had said goodbye early in the afternoon and the villa was unusually quiet and empty as Kyra and Praxos descended the steps from the first floor.

Savina had suggested to Kyra that Barnabas be forbidden from entering the kitchen for the rest of the day. Kyra couldn’t help but notice that Savina was visibly nervous and tried to reason with the blonde woman, reassuring her that her plan was watertight and would only end well. Apparently Kyra’s confidence managed to transfer itself to Savina who smiled and briefly embraced Kyra and wished her success with a sincere if nervous smile.

Together with Praxos, the Archon took a tour of the property, sending all the guards home except for the two who were responsible for access to the forecourt property. She instructed Evios and Itheus about the arrival of the Polemarch and informed them that everyone else should be denied access until tomorrow. Kyra and Praxos had known the two men since their time together in the rebellion and knew that they were trustworthy and wouldn’t question what was going on this evening.

Then they went to Barnabas and Kassandra to make sure that the one-eyed man had everything he needed for the evening so that he didn’t have to leave the room again.

Kyra emphasized how important it was that he had to keep Kassandra quiet as long as Linos would be here. As she spoke, it occurred to Kyra that it might be a better idea to have Praxos watch over Kassandra. He was after all, much bigger and stronger, better able to restrain Kassandra if she became unruly.

Barnabas was outraged and protested indignantly. He stubbornly rejected her suggestion, persisting that he was the better one and knew far better how to soothe and keep his girl calm if needed. Besides, he pointed out reasonably, Kyra would have need of Praxos’ strength in case anything went wrong. At that Praxos chimed in, agreeing that Barnabas was right. Faced with opposition from both of them Kyra finally gave in.

 

After Kyra had performed her poisonous preparations in the dining room she and Praxos met in the adjoining room. In this room Praxos would be on guard duty.

Kyra was on an even keel, she seemed so composed and focused that Praxos' worries almost dissolved into thin air. This was the Kyra that he knew, that he admired and loved, she was so similar to his sister. But when Linos and Kassandra had shown up on Mykonos, Kyra's dark, wild and untamed side had reappeared. That ferocity plunged her into imbalance.

He once again checked the weapons on his belt and made sure the buckles of his armor were tight enough. As he did so, he made a silent prayer to Athena that he would not have to make use of his weapons tonight. Kyra's voice ripped him out of his thoughts and he looked at her, his eyes fixed briefly on the incredibly revealing neckline, before he managed to tear himself away and look into her eyes.

Kyra didn't miss that his eyes had paused on the way to hers. She grinned embarrassed and watched as Praxos turned deep red, he cleared his throat and didn't know where to look.

"Good to know that this dress has exactly the effect it's supposed to have on you men. If you jump at it, Linos will definitely bite," Kyra couldn’t stop her smirk from growing into a full blown smile.

Praxos rubbed both his hands down his face, hoping to wipe away the embarrassment he felt. "By Artemis, I'm sorry Kyra, the dress is real-"

Kyra interrupted him and did laugh but not unkindly, "It's all right. What’s important is that you stay in this room and prick up your ears. No matter what you hear, you come only when I _call_ your name! Not if I pronounce it normally. Just in case we should talk about you."

Praxos nodded, he couldn’t prevent a mischievous grin when he pictured what might happen. "Aye, I imagine it would rouse his suspicions if I came storming in with my weapons drawn while you were telling him how I helped raise you." But his grin shrank quickly as he thought how dangerous her plan was. "By the gods, Kyra, I just hope everything goes as planned."

"Relax and don't go pacing back and forth while I'm next door with him, he'll hear your trampling. And even if it doesn't go as planned, you seem to have forgotten that I used to fight at the front myself. I can take care of myself, even without a weapon." Kyra replied, chin raised and hands on her hips.

He looked at her with worried eyes, breathed out the air he had held and said, "I know, little Artemis."

Kyra let her arms fall to her sides. "You haven't called me that for a long time, Praxos."

"Because you're not small anymore and I forget that from time to time when I worry. But there are times when I miss the little girl with the bow that was bigger than she was, who used to come hunting with me at night. And who sat by me next to the campfire, listening spellbound to my stories about the stars."

Kyra heaved a sigh. “Orion’s story was always my favorite.” She closed the short distance between them and clung to Praxos’ broad torso, putting her head on his chest. "It was a great time. We could do it again someday."

Praxos put his arms around Kyra, rocking her gently. "I've told you all the stories I know, though."

"Then just tell me them again."

 

As the sun slowly set it painted Mykonos in gold, Kyra entered the forecourt and closed her eyes as a pleasant breeze caressed her face. The chirping of the birds and clitter of the crickets together with the rustling of the leaves in the wind was so idyllic that she could get lost in it forever.

She could always draw strength from it. It reminded her of the few good times of her childhood, the time she had spent with the Daughters of Artemis. Of Praxos’ sister Philippa who braided her hair just the way Kyra still wore it. Or the times when she would go picking flowers with her mother, to sell them later at the market.

Orion's barking ripped her from the pleasant music of nature and as she looked down at him, his tail wagging in excitement, he waited for her to throw the stick he had dropped in front of her feet.

Evios and Itheus, the two guards, looked over at them as Orion barked again invitingly at his mistress. Kyra smiled at the two men and then threw the stick in their direction. Before Orion reached his prey, Itheus picked up the stick and threw it down the stairs towards the path that was leading up to the villa.

The dog jumped panting after the stick. Reaching the target he took it into his mouth and lifted his head attentively. Kyra recognized by his alert posture that Orion had spotted someone or something, but couldn't tell what it was because it was still hidden behind the stable and the downward slope.

A short sharp whistle from her and Orion immediately made his way back to her. She received him with a compliment, "good boy," and a small piece of dried meat that he got after sitting in front of her without any instruction.

"Give," she ordered him and Orion picked up the stick and waited until Kyra took it from his offered mouth.

"I think your guest is here, Archon." Itheus spoke over his right shoulder and nodded his head towards the stable when he had Kyra's attention.

The Spartan Polemarch came without armor but with company. Two soldiers in light armour with shield and spear escorted him.

"Malaka!" Kyra cursed under her breath. Orion immediately picked up on her tension and growled quietly as he stood protectively next to her. "Stay!" Kyra ordered and strode immediately to the stairs where her guards were standing. Linos wore a very noble looking exomis of red fabric with gold and white ornaments. And did she see right? Had he shaved his beard?

The Polemarch and his soldiers reached the lower part of the stairs before Kyra arrived at the upper part. Relieved, she watched as Linos climbed the stairs alone after her guards told the Polemarchen that he alone was allowed to enter. His companions however, did not give any indication that they had any plans to leave. They seemed to be waiting for something.

Kyra hadn't expected him to come with bodyguards. And she saw by Linos' confused facial expression that he was irritated by the guards' orders. She needed to clear this up quickly before he could suspect that something was wrong.

She was now only a few steps away from her guards and polemarch Linos when she called their names and gave a hand gesture to indicate that she was taking this matter into her own hands.

Evios and Itheus nodded and resumed watch at their two places.

"Archon." A freshly shaved Linos greeted her without a smile and his eyes locked on Kyra’s without even a moment to look elsewhere. "I am beginning to get the feeling that I and my people are not welcome here."

"How am I to understand this?” Kyra waved her hand in the direction of his waiting guards. “Were you under attack?" she asked, feigning shock, but her curiosity was real. The fact that his eyes were not drawn to her bosom irritated Kyra but she didn’t let it show. Frowning attentively she listened to Linos' reproaches.

The polemarch puffed out his chest and put his hands on his richly decorated belt, his kopis wobbling back and forth as he slipped with one hand as he had used too much force. "Firstly, I was rudely turned away by these two incompetent guards and your assistant, even though I only wished to inquire after your well-being, and secondly my soldiers, who are inquiring after my nephew's disappearance, are being warily rejected by the Delians."

Kyra did not miss the nervousness he displayed. Obviously this cockerel behaviour was just a performance for her. At least partially.

Kyra began her statement with an edge to her voice, "When my guards treat guests as rudely as you describe, it is only ever because those guests did not comply with their requests. I know every single one of my guards and I have chosen them carefully so it's hard for me to imagine that they were unjustly rude.”

Then Kyra changed into a more sympathetic tone, “I'll have a conversation with them anyway, be sure of that. They know that I place a lot of value on having respectful behaviour. And as far as your soldiers are concerned, you have to understand that Podarkes had ridden the Delians very hard and that's why they are sensitive to foreign soldiers. You will not get far approaching them with Spartan strictness.”

And by the last sentence she had almost sweetly whispered. It appeared to have had the desired effect, encouraging Linos to give up his puffed pose. “I would advise your soldiers to conduct their inquiries with sensitivity and respect."

"And today I get to hear that I alone may enter your property."

"I have to admit that the fault there lies entirely with me. I expected you to come by yourself, like the last time. And I told the guards that only you were to have access, I ... " Kyra looked uncertainly at her hands that she held in front of her bosom, and then spoke so softly that he was not sure if he had heard right. "I thought ... that you might want to stay overnight ... depending on how the evening turns out."

As Kyra lowered her hands and gave Linos a sexy but timid look, his eyes moved to her neckline and went wide. It seemed as if he only now had noticed what she was wearing. He licked his lips as he looked her up and down.

Kyra had to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent a triumphant grin. She silently praised her sister’s lessons on how to use the weapons of a woman. Perhaps after all she should try and reconsider her embarrassment about her sister’s profession, every job has its own set of useful skills clearly.

She took a step back and cocked her head. This tore Linos out of his rigidity and he released his gaze from Kyra's breasts. He didn’t even blush when he looked into Kyra's eyes, but his pupils had enlarged and something else probably too, Kyra could imagine, smirking to herself.

Linos made a polite bow, "It would be a very great honor, Archon."

"Please, call me Kyra," she insisted invitingly, extending her hand, which he accepted without hesitation and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.

"What a lovely fragrance. By Aphrodite, your skin truly shines like that of a goddess.” His eyes slid from her hand up her arm and to her shoulder, then again to her breasts before letting go of her hand.

"Thank you." Kyra smiled delighted, but only because she was glad that he had finally taken the bait. "Let's go inside. The food is over a small flame but I don’t know how long the oil will last. "

"Of course," he said, beaming to both ears. "I'm looking forward to this evening with you. To be honest, I have to admit that I've been looking forward to it all day." This time, Linos blushed slightly and the corners of his blue eyes crinkled as he smiled so broadly it showed his teeth. Kyra had seen this face before, this expression. His features were so similar to Thaletas’ the way he had just smiled at her.

  
 

A stinging pain shot through Kyra's heart. Some part of her was ashamed, felt guilty for what she was about to do. Kyra felt like she was betraying Thaletas a second time. It was not fair and certainly not honorable. Linos was obviously falling in love with Kyra just like Thaletas had and he beamed like a little boy in anticipation of a night with her, completely oblivious as to the fate that really awaited him.

That was not Kyra's style, it was what Podarkes would do. Kyra preferred to face her counterpart and give them a tongue-lashing and take their life in a fair fight.

Was Savina right? Was this wrong? Should she wait until Kassandra was awake and give her the chance to avenge herself?

No! Now was not the time for doubt and remorse. This bastard was working for the cult and had almost killed Kassandra. He lied to Kassandra, pretending to be her friend. Acted like a coward, with poison. And with poison and lies he should be judged.

Kyra turned around when Linos suddenly called. "One moment please."

She watched as he hurried down the steps to his two soldiers, took an amphora from one of them and told them to go back to the fort. Relieved to see the two soldiers leave, Kyra had walked halfway across the forecourt to the house, where she waited with Orion.

With a spring in his step, he caught up to Kyra "Your assistant Savina said you prefer exquisite wine over flowers, so I brought some from Leandros' cellar,” only then, when Kyra made a sidestep and turned around to him did he see the dog.

Orion’s fur bristled from neck to tail and he growled lightly.

Linos clung anxiously to the amphora and stared wide-eyed with fear at the dog.

"Leave it." Kyra spoke quietly and calmly and Orion immediately followed her command and took a seated position beside her.

"Do you like dogs?" Kyra asked as if she hadn’t registered Orion growling at Linos. "A great philosopher once said, 'a man who does not accept the dog of a woman, doesn’t deserve to share the bed with her'." a carefree laugh from Kyra followed.

And as hoped, Linos fell into the trap. "Of course I like dogs. Who doesn’t like them? " The self-imposed smile betrayed his lie as did his reaction when he saw Orion for the first time. Kyra had seen this reaction often enough with other people when she was walking with him.

With a seductive smile Kyra said, “you may pet him, if you wish, he doesn’t bite...unless I tell him to.” She suspected that he was not the sort of man who would want to betray weakness, especially in front of the woman he was hoping to seduce later.

"Say hello to the nice man, Orion." Kyra told her dog. Orion looked at his mistress for a moment, then got up from his sitting position and walked leisurely towards Linos.

The Spartan swallowed, clearly gathering all his courage and reluctantly patted him on the head with just his fingers while saying, "good dog" very unconvincingly. Orion in return licked his hand and suddenly made a face, sneezed and trotted back to his mistress.

Disgusted, Linos grimaced and wiped his wet hand on his expensive exomis. He followed Kyra after she asked him, “shall we head inside? The servants have prepared a nice meal and are off home already, so we have the Villa almost to ourselves, except for Evios and Itheus, and they are safely outside.”

“Where is your Bodyguard?” Inquired Linos while he kept his eyes firmly on Kyra’s legs.

“Praxos? He’s at the Tavern, probably enjoying the company of a charming woman and an ale.”

At first, they walked side by side but Orion gradually pushed between the two humans and Linos’ distance from Kyra was getting bigger with every step.

As much as she enjoyed seeing the Polemarch so nervous about a dog, Orion would only distract Linos from focusing on Kyra, and that was after all the most important part of her plan.

Kyra opened the door to the dining room and gestured to Linos to step in first with an elegant wave of her hand, she herself stopped outside and forbade Orion to enter. With her arm outstretched and the words, "go up to your bed," she ordered him to go to the upper floor. Orion hesitated for a moment and looked firstly to Linos and then to Kyra. Kyra repeated the order calmly and firmly, and Orion trotted off and up the stairs.

While Kyra was still dealing with Orion, Linos looked around the room. The shutters to the inner courtyard were closed, candlelight gave a cozy atmosphere, the table was set for two people and nicely decorated and the stew smelled wonderful.

Linos mouth watered and not only because of the stew. When he let his eyes glide over Kyra's plunging neckline, he congratulated himself. After dinner and a few cups of wine, he would have an unforgettable night in the arms and between the legs of this incredibly pretty woman and who knows maybe even make her his wife. He felt his manhood already stirring as his eyes slid over Kyra's body once more.

He couldn’t understand how the Eagle Bearer had not wanted to keep this woman forever. She had been an idiot, clearly, but her loss would be his gain. He felt his chest swell with pride as he called to mind how he kicked the woman off the cliff and pictured the lion devouring her. He had done Kyra a favour in taking Kassandra out of the picture, what good would an outcast Spartan woman be to the Archon when she could have a respectable Spartan Polemarch as her spouse?

"I have seen some people who have their dogs under control, but I've never seen a dog as obedient as yours." Linos confessed, visibly impressed.

Kyra smiled seductively and closed the door behind her, the closer she got to her plan, the more nervous she became. Nike was right, her nervousness might betray her after all. She had already caught herself twice as she looked at the other door, behind which Praxos was waiting, and she had only just entered the room.

Fortunately, Linos had his eyes on other parts of her body than her eyes. All she had to do now was hope that Kassandra would not have one of her waking moments in which she gave out a confused cry that would echo through the house, or worse still that she might try to crawl out of bed. She was not sure if Barnabas alone was able to restrain her. She and Savina had had trouble doing it together.

Her nervousness made her hands wet when she thought about the chance of Kassandra, stumbling, delirious through the door, dragging Barnabas with her as he was helplessly clinging to her foot. Linos could easily strike her down with his sword while she was defenceless and after that Kyra.

Then she gave herself a jerk, rubbing her hands dry on her chiton and answering Linos’ comment after a far too long break. "A certain appearance, a strict hand and a resolute voice work wonders," and added in a seductive voice, "and not only with dogs."

Fortunately, the Spartan had not yet selected one of the two seats at the table; he was still standing in front of the table with the amphora in his hand. Kyra had to react quickly if she wanted him in the right place.

Linos put the wine down on the table, turned back to Kyra and revealed to her, "I personally find something very stimulating about a strict woman's hand." Then he turned to the left side of the table, that was the wrong side. Kyra's side.

Kyra closed the short distance between them with three quick steps and put her flat hand on his sternum, pushing him back to the edge of the table and breathing at him, "is that so?"

Kyra lifted her chin and looked at Linos seductively with slightly lowered eyelids. Then she licked her lips and gave him a light push with her hand as she made a side step to the left side of the table. A shameless smile played around her lips as she whispered to him, "I think we'll have a lot of fun tonight."

Kyra let her hand slide down Linos chest and ran her eyes from top to bottom over Lino's body, the smile slipping away from her as her eyes caught sight of something behind his kopis.

"Is that…?"

"Leonidas’ spear," Linos finished her question and pulled it from his belt.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm here to tell you that Kassandra's awakening will be delayed, again! XD  
> But just for one more chapter. I swear!
> 
> And this time it's totally the fault of my beloved betareader who reinforced my half-assed idea to split this chapter in two, again.  
> I even have evidence of it. 
> 
> I'll just leave this quote here:
> 
> "And no one is going to grumble about the awakening being delayed for a lovely fluffy, smutty chapter, I guarantee you.  
> AND  
> from a purely logistical point of view you're having a redacted, redacted, redacted,  
> redacted, give your readers something nice and meaty to enjoy while you're redacted  
> keep them bubbling along " - Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic
> 
> XD
> 
> Yeah that's what she said. So if you want to file a complaint pls send them to her directly.
> 
> But Dude's and Dudette's look at the bright side, the next chapter is almost done and it will have fluff and smut and this chapter will have Linos suffer. Isn't that wonderful? :D

 

 

Kyra shivered inwardly at the raspy, ticklish feeling on her palm as she let her hand slide down Linos’ hairy chest and tried to imagine it was Thaletas’ smooth hairless skin instead.

She preferred men with sparse or even better without chest hair. Excessive chest hair was a complete turn off for Kyra.

Kyra gave him what she hoped was a flirtatious pout as she ran her eyes from top to bottom over Linos, her pretence of enthusiasm for his body seemed to be working, judging by how he puffed out his chest and sought eye contact. She forced herself to smile when she briefly met his gaze but it slipped away from her as her eyes caught sight of something behind his kopis.

Kyra’s heart stopped for a beat and her throat went suddenly so dry, she had to swallow before she could word her question. "Is that…?"

"Leonidas’ Spear," Linos finished her question for her. Smiling proudly he pulled the short spear from his belt and started speaking glowingly about it. “It’s magnificent! A fine piece of craftsmanship that our King wielded against his enemies.”

Kyra tuned out.

Linos raved on. “As a young boy, I always listened spellbound to the heroic deeds of Leonidas and I knew that one day I would become as great a warrior as him.”

Of course she knew it was Leonidas’ Spear. Kassandra had told Kyra about her grandfather and how her mother had handed the heirloom over to Kassandra when she proved herself ready at a very young age.

But how had Linos got hold of it? Kassandra would never surrender it.

Kyra thought back to the moment she and Praxos rescued Kassandra from the lion, took her to the villa, removed her armor. The spear hadn’t been in any of the memories. Kassandra must have lost it when she fell. If she had had it back there, no doubt the lion wouldn’t have come so close as to bite her. And it would only make sense that Linos would go and check later to see if Kassandra had been eaten or was still alive. He must have found the Spear below the rock overhang.

Linos waved the Spear and was still gushing about it, “it’s such an honor to hold this weapon in my own hands. I will have our best blacksmith in Sparta make a full spear out of it and restore it to its former glory again.” His enthusiastic face twisted into a look of contempt, “as an outcast, the Eagle Bearer had no right to be holding this spear, she didn’t even care to fix it. She brought nothing but shame to the house of Agiad.”

 _Kassandra has more honor and courage than you would ever be able to collect in your whole miserable life,_ she spat at him in her thoughts.

Oblivious of Kyra’s inner raising anger, Linos kept talking. “I saved Kassandra's life as we fought on the cliff against the Athenians, and as a thank you she gave me the Spear after the battle. She told me that she no longer needed it, now that she has restored her family honor by fulfilling the King’s orders. She won’t bother you ever again, she is already on her way back to Sparta to start a new life.”

 _Whichever goatmother has farted you malaka out of her ass, you don’t deserve any of the air you’re breathing._ Kyra was seething inside but had to pull herself together or she would lose her self-control and snatch the Spear out of his hand and ram it down his throat, right here and now.

His haughty grin slipped from his face and Linos stared confusedly at Kyra as he finally became aware of her face, taut with anger.

 _You lying motherfucker!_ Kyra was furious. Did he really think he could charm her by bragging on with these lies?

That was it! Kyra threw her whole plan overboard and decided to kill him with the Spear. But she would make sure he suffered just like Kassandra suffered from the lion’s attack and the poisoned arrow. All she needed was to get hold of the Spear and distract him long enough to put the poison on the tip of it.

Only then did she realize that she was glaring at him venomously, she had to keep her facade up and immediately assumed what she hoped was a flirtatiously admiring look.

“I can’t believe that you have the Spear, right in your hands. I'm putting it mildly if I admit that I’m jealous.” Kyra pursed her lips, sulking and then made an astonished face and gave him to understand that she, too, was impressed by Leonidas’ heroics. “The spear of the Legendary King of Sparta who saved his people from the bondage of the Persians and paid for it with his life when he led the allied Greek forces to a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae while attempting to defend the pass from the invading Persian army.”

Fortunately for her, Linos did misinterpret Kyra's derailed facial features and he seemed impressed by her interest and knowledge as she gushed over the historical event.

She needed to get hold of the spear. “Kassandra never allowed me to touch it.” Kyra’s lips pouted and she gazed longingly at the weapon.

Striking a pose, Linos held the spear up in the air, “Kassandra had told me that it can make you feel things, it tingles in her hand when it tries to communicate with her, shows her memories of her grandfather, she can hear the whispers of its divine power.” He turned the weapon over in his hands and tapped the flat blade in his palm while making the annoyed face of a little kid that puzzled over on how to solve an ostomachion.

“May I hold it?” Kyra purred and reached out for it, her fingers were already hovering above its shaft in Linos outspread hand but then he held it up and out of reach. “That, my dear, depends on what your _strict hand_ can offer me in return.”

Kyra wanted to slap the smug grin off his face so badly. She took a deep breath, kept her cool and played along despite wanting to stab his eyes out.

She pushed her chest out, rolled her shoulders seductively, presented her full cleavage to him and allowed her fingers to stroke lazily over the soft skin of the bare part of her breasts. “Well, how about a foretaste of what is to come?”

He made a quick step forward and Kyra instantly took one backwards, raised her arm, hand outstretched and domineeringly said “No!”

And Linos stopped, stayed in place like an obedient dog and by the small smile on his lips he seemed to like the little foreplay Kyra was offering.

“I don’t have any appetite for the stew anymore. I crave something completely different now, my wildcat.” His eyes were all over her now, and they grew dark with lust. He was clearly undressing her with his eyes. "Kassandra told me that she loathed your imperious nature, but I adore it."

“I'll give you whatever you want, but stop talking about your dishonorable lapdog.” She didn't even want to hear her name on his treacherous lips. She reached for her chair, placed it in front of the table between them, stepped around it and walked up to Linos.

He truly seemed to think he had Kyra in the palms of his hands by telling her lies and slandering Kassandra. Blinded by Kyra’s manipulative skills he was sure she was eating out of his hand when it was actually the other way around.

“Let’s play a sexy game. I need the Spear though.” She held her hand out, smiling sweetly, blinking pleadingly at him through half closed eyes.

He handed it over without hesitation, his eyes momentarily fixed at her mouth as she bit her lower lip, before they roamed over her sparkling skin. He was so close to her breasts now that he wasn’t able to tear his eyes away from them as they rose and fell whenever Kyra took a breath. He was so fixed on her cleavage he didn’t register the gasp that escaped Kyra when she took the Spear in her hand.

Kyra gasped in surprise when she felt the tingling sensation that spread through her fingers, over her hand and further into her arm. She could hear a faint whisper of several voices that spoke as one but no matter how hard she tried to listen she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

This was what Linos had talked about earlier and what Kassandra had tried to explain to Kyra back then when she told her about the Spear. But why did she experience it and Linos hadn’t?

Kyra registered Linos’ voice only after he had finished speaking and suddenly the tingling sensation and whispers in her head stopped. She blinked several times as she moved her head upwards to look at his face. He was smiling at her as he registered that she hadn’t been listening, so he repeated, “I was mesmerized by it as well the first time I held it in my hands. It’s magnificent, isn’t it?”

Kyra nodded, she could once again see the resemblance between him and Thaletas as he smiled adoringly at her but she was too preoccupied to react to that with what the Spear had just made her feel and hear. “It is.” She murmured distractedly and wondered why it had suddenly gone still. But she had no time to wonder about that now, she had a plan to implement.

With her free hand she reached out and tickled Linos under his stubbly chin, “I don’t mind skipping the supper but I would love to try your exquisite wine. Why don’t you fill our cups?”

“I’d love to.” He beamed and turned around to the table to get both their cups filled. While he was busy with his back to her she hastily reached for the hidden vial and pulled it out with shaky fingers as she remembered Nike’s words _‘Be very careful with it. Absorption via the skin alone can cause some discomfort.’_

It wouldn’t do any good if she dropped the contents all over herself now. But she had to be quick and thinking about dropping the vial or not making it in time and getting caught in the very act by Linos made her nervous.

Linos was happily chatting as he was filling the first cup and Kyra added an “oh really?” and “I’d love to hear that story later.” while she opened the vial. And as careful as she could with her trembling hands, dribbled the poison on the tip of the blade. It seemed to be soaked up by the metal immediately or maybe it dried right away, Kyra wasn’t sure, but she was glad about that discovery. She turned the spear once to get both sides poisoned.

When Kyra gave a quick look over to Linos, checking how far he was, her heart raced, he had already filled the second cup and reached for the amphora’s stopper and she still held the open vial in her hand. It almost slipped past her fingers as she closed it hastily, Linos had placed the amphora back on the table and grabbed both cups, turned around and saw Kyra smiling at him. The spear hanging nonchalantly in her hand at her side.

The Spartan handed her one of the cups, raised his own and toasted towards her, “to our victory against the Athenians.”

Kyra raised her cup too, “and to Leonidas, legendary king of Sparta.” She emptied her cup in one go and sighed with relief afterwards. She really had needed that drink to calm her nerves after that stressful moment. He had been so close to catching her with the poison in hand.

Linos took the last sip of his wine and then inquired, “and now?” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at Kyra intently.

“Now! ...” Kyra said in a dangerously calm voice, hips swaying as she closed the distance between them. As she did so she smashed her cup against the stone floor and when she had reached him snatched his cup out of his hand and smashed it on the floor as well.

Praxos jumped behind the door as he heard the first crash and by the second his hand was hovering over the doorknob, listening strained to see if he would hear any sort of fighting noises or if Kyra would call his name. He relaxed when he heard Kyra resume speaking casually again.

Kyra’s little spectacle excited Linos visibly and he waited eagerly on her next move. Carefully but skillfully she turned the Spear in her hand, the long shaft gave her enough space for a secure grip and left still enough remaining to press it into Linos’ abdomen. That way she guided him backwards to the chair, “... be a good, obedient Spartan boy and sit down.”

And when Linos did Kyra had already moved up, standing above him and their thighs touched. She shuddered inwardly at the next move, she thought about imagining again that it was Thaletas and not this scumbag but that wouldn’t help her to go through with her plan since she was going to kill him in the end.

Before Kyra could lower herself down onto his lap Linos suddenly gripped her hips and squeezed them playfully, Kyra gave him a firm slap in the face and he immediately let go after the unexpected smack.

“You only touch me when I tell you. Is that clear?” Kyra ordered in a dominant tone and flashed him an angry glare.

“Yes, Archon.” He almost stuttered, not out of fear judging by his expression, but out of excitement. Kyra was surprised by just how easy it was to keep him under control. When Nike had told her, Kyra had a hard time believing that certain men in powerful positions liked to be treated like this. Certainly she had been bossy with Thaletas sometimes but _this_ was a different kind of powerplay and she had to admit it even made her feel powerful, it was exciting. Would Kassandra enjoy this, she wondered?

When Kyra finally settled down on his lap she could feel his erection and felt incredibly relieved that Nike had only demanded of her to remove her strophion. Linos’ thighs twitched at the contact and Kyra suddenly felt like she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible but she also couldn’t prevent a gloating grin as she thought _‘it must have been a while for you, eh?’_ since it didn’t take much for his little man to stand up.

Linos smiled back at her, “I see you are impressed with my other spear.” He boasted, grinning proudly, obviously interpreting Kyra’s grin differently.

Kyra put her left hand on his shoulder to keep him in place and waved the Spear with a lazy motion in front of his face. “If that is your other spear, what would you like me to do with it?”

“I would want you to lick it with-.”

“Ah-ah! Don’t tell me, silly boy. Show me!” She demanded and carefully, slowly, closed in with the Spear. At first Linos backed away, no one wanted a sharp weapon in their face after all but when Kyra purred, “show me how you want me to lick your cock.” he willingly opened his mouth and presented his tongue.

Kyra felt her abdominal muscles contract out of sheer tension. She was so close to giving this bastard what he deserved, a part of her wanted to drive the Spear through his throat and scream at him in rage for bringing Kassandra back onto her Island and bringing up all the painful memories of her past. The other part reminded her to remain calm and play out her superior hand, making sure he would suffer a long and painful death just like this motherfucker deserved.

She grinned as she slid the broad sided tip of the Spear over his tongue, and as he licked it obediently Kyra recalled Nike’s instruction _‘Orally administered, it will only take a minute and you’ll have this bastard lying motionless at your feet.’._

Kyra made sure he also licked the other side of the Spear and while he did so she cooed, “there is something I have wanted to tell you for quite a while now.”

“Yes, my dear, what is it?” he eagerly wanted to know and when Kyra closed in and he felt her warm breath at his ear, pleasant goosebumps raised on his neck. But when Kyra breathed into his ear, “Kassandra is not dead.” his eyes widened in surprise and shock. Before he could push Kyra back she had slashed the Spear across his lips and withdrew herself from his lap, leaving him with a mean gash and bloody mouth.

Linos looked at his hand, there wasn’t too much blood, but he could feel the skin on his face burning where it was cut. He glowered up at Kyra whose grin turned into an angry snarl.

She couldn’t hold back her pent-up anger anymore, she didn’t have to pretend anymore and her voice was filled with scornful resentment and fury. “You come to my house and lie to my face, swaggering in telling me you saved Kassandra’s life and that she gifted you with the Spear. I watched your pathetic assassination attempt, I saved her from the lion, I brought her here, she’s sleeping right above our heads, recovering from your cowardly attempt to poison her.”

Linos roared with anger, his hands balled into fists as he rose from the chair to rush towards Kyra. But before he could even really stand tall his legs gave way and he lost a part of a tooth at the hard impact with his chin on the floor.

He snapped, “you treacherous bitch!” and struggled to get up, pushing his upper body up on his arms but his strength wasn’t enough and he couldn’t feel his legs anymore. So he leaned on his hands, glowering at Kyra from below, “I wl stngl yuh.”

Kyra kneeled down a secure distance away and mocked “I’m sorry I didn’t understand what you were saying,” she cocked her head to one side. “Is there something wrong with your tongue?”

Linos felt his arms giving way and the burning pain on his skin had spread into his tongue and down his throat and his belly felt disconcertingly strange. He tried to speak again but it was the same unintelligible gibber as before.

When Linos couldn’t hold his body up anymore he rolled on his back, seeing from the corner of his eye how Kyra came closer, crouching next to him, leaning her elbow on her knee, propping her head up on her hand, her face hovering above him with a satisfied smirk.

In no position to move, Linos was helplessly exposed to Kyra’s mocking.

“I have the impression you are no longer enthusiastic about poison, now that you are feeling its effects yourself. You could have died an honorable death if you had challenged Kassandra to a fight. Instead, you have chosen the path of a coward because you knew that you were no match for her. You abused her trust and pulled your bow behind her back. I imagine you're realizing about now that poison is the weapon of a vile coward?” Kyra made a spiteful tsk noise, “You disgust me and you'll die like the pathetic weakling you are!"

Her smirk transformed into an angry snarl and Kyra struggled. Failed to overcome a vindictive sense of power feeding on her anger and disgust as she watched Linos panting in panic and tears rolling down his cheeks followed by the first streaks of blood.

“Should I tell you something else? Thaletas is dead! Kassandra killed him _for me_.”

Lino's whole body stiffened convulsively and he groaned audibly but Kyra didn’t feel sorry at all. He was clearly nearing his end Kyra thought as he coughed up blood, choking and spluttering as he struggled for breath and she decided to keep a safer distance from him. Nike wouldn’t be happy if she was to return her peplos covered in blood.

Kyra watched him for a moment, lying there whimpering, in his own blood and piss, and when it finally stopped she decided to end this and called loudly for Praxos. The big man literally fell through the door and behind him tumbled Barnabas.

Weapon drawn Praxos looked about and when he saw the Polemarch lying motionless on the floor he sheathed his sword and rushed up to Kyra.

“Are you alright?” He inquired, the worry evident in his voice as he put his hands on her shoulders, gave her an allround check with his eyes and when he didn’t find any injuries looked up at her face. Her expression was unreadable, he couldn’t tell what was going on inside of her. Was she okay? Shocked? Emotionally hurt or calm?

Barnabas whistled at the sight of Linos on the floor “By Hera’s wrath, you did it! Remind me to never get on the wrong side of you.”

Kyra broke away from Praxos’ soft grip, “I’m fine. We need to get rid of him before he loses more body fluids.” and looked down at Linos. She wasn’t sure if she just saw his chest moving, if he was perhaps still breathing, but didn’t really care. She just wanted him to be gone. Never to see him again.

Praxos looked at the Polemarch and sneered in disgust and pity as he kneeled down to survey Kyra’s bloody deed. His face was covered in blood, that had poured out of his mouth and eyes, as well as some other bodyparts he realised as he looked further down his body.

This murder scene was a mess but it would surely have been a bigger mess if it had come to a fight with weapons. Praxos thought about how to transport the corpse to the beach without leaving a messy trail behind and, more importantly about how to keep himself clean of all the body fluids that had and still might flow out of the late Polemarch.

Kyra couldn’t look any longer at Linos, the way he stared into the air with his eyes wide open reminded her about Thaletas’ corpse. Barnabas was a welcome distraction. “Weren’t you supposed to be making sure Kassandra stays quiet?” She asked, hands on her hips and scolding.

The old man turned his head away from the corpse towards Kyra. “Oh! When I heard something smash I was worried and wanted to check, making sure nothing had gone wrong.”

“And in doing so, risk being spotted by Linos.” Kyra reprimanded Barnabas, who looked down at the floor and mumbled, “Uh yes, but-” his eyes went wide in surprise when he saw what Kyra was holding in one of her hands. “Is that Kassandra’s spear?”

“Yes. This bastard had it,” Kyra held it up and nodded her head in the direction of Linos.

“Malaka! How did he-” Barnabas stopped mid sentence when he heard a distinctive sound, turning his head towards the noise he saw Praxos who was drawing his shortsword as he said, “he is still breathing. Let’s release him from his suffering.”

Barnabas hurried over and kept him from doing so by barking in protest, “Oh no you won’t! This Bastard deserves a slow death.”

Praxos raised himself, stood tall, broad shouldered and looked down at the short, grey-bearded man. His reasoning voice the opposite of his intimidating size and pose, “think twice old man! This guy has suffered enough-”

Barnabas cut him right off mid sentence and vented furiously, “this motherfucker tried to kill my girl! I have sat beside her days and nights fearing she would die at any moment, I had to watch how she suffered without being able to do anything to ease her pain.”

Praxos wanted to argue but Barnabas wasn’t done and stabbed a finger into Praxos’ chest. “Now you imagine it had been Kyra, and I tell you to your face you surely wouldn’t think twice about letting him suffer until his last breath.”

The giant then looked at Kyra who looked back at him, mute and outwardly impassive, but with a look that said _‘he is totally right and you know it’._

Praxos huffed and sheathed his sword, “Well then we need a carpet or the like that can protect me from his blood and mess because I’m not going to carry him through the house and down the beach like this.”

It didn’t take long until they found a worn out carpet and a few old bed sheets in one of the storerooms. Praxos and Barnabas busied themselves with the unpleasant task of rolling Linos' leaking body, unceremoniously, into a too small carpet, securing it with rope. That job completed they set to cleaning the room, mopping up the blood and urine while Kyra cleaned the contaminated Spear and dishes.

Praxos carried the rolled-up Linos with both arms in front of him into the backyard, careful to not get himself dirty. In the dark of the night they made their way down the small path. The moon was obscured by clouds and Praxos stumbled more than once over small obstacles and on one occasion lost the carpet as it fell out of his hands when he stumbled over a root.

As he helped him to pick up the swaddled Polemarch, Barnabas suggested to Praxos more honest than sarcastic that they should just roll him down the hill. The giant grumbled something and then reminded Barnabas about his task, which was to check for any witnesses on their way down to the beach which wasn’t far away from the back side of the Villa.

Arriving at the beach they took a small fisher boat and set off out to the sea. Praxos was busy rowing into the middle of the canal between Mykonos and Delos and only realized what Barnabas was doing when it was already too late. He had cut off the rope that had secured the carpet.

“Listen, I really get that you despise this guy but he is as good as dead, I’m not even sure if he realizes what’s going on anymore.” Praxos said as he watched how Barnabas unrolled Linos and tied a fishnet filled with stones around his ankles.

The grey-haired man ignored Praxos’ words and instead asked him, “do you know the temple ruins close to Delos?”

“Aye, why?”

“We need to go there.”

“Because?”

“Sharks.” Barnabas exclaimed and grinned diabolically at the still conscious Linos, whose eyes had widened at the word.

Praxos rolled his eyes. “I begin to understand where Kassandra got her passion for the dramatic from.”

The temple ruins were still far enough away from Delos’ coast that they had no need to fear there being any witnesses. Barnabas had a hard time getting Linos over the side of the boat and after his third try Praxos couldn’t watch it any longer and gently shoved the old man aside. Effortlessly he scooped the still breathing Polemarch up and pushed him over and into the water.

As soon as the body hit the water the net with the heavy stones sank and Barnabas watched pleased as the shape vanished below the surface.

Linos lungs begged for air and they started burning but before he gave in to the reflex of gulping for air to take the deadly breath of water, a shadow approached fast and he found himself face to face with a jaw full of deadly teeth. His last silent scream a stream of bubbles.

They both sat next to each other silently for a while and watched the calm surface of the water and just in time the clouds opened up and as the moonshine lit the water, a swirl of bubbles and blood surfaced.

“Ahhh, what a beautiful night.” Barnabas chirped as he leaned back and put his hands behind his head.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you asked yourself what Kyra did while Praxos and Barnabas got rid of a certain body? Wonder no more. Here is your answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again my fellow readers. Look chapter 13 is finished and ready for you to read.  
> And as promised it contains fluff and smut, next to some angst and drama of course :D
> 
> And as you will see at the end of this chapter Kassandra's awakening will definitely happen in chapter 14. There is nothing that can prevent that anymore. :D
> 
> I'll change the rating from M to Explicit now because we will have a couple more sexual encounters in the far future chapters.
> 
> Anyway I hope you can enjoy this chapter and as always let me know what you liked, what made you change your panties and what you think is going to happen next (except for the obvious awakening of our sleeping beauty) or maybe what you'd like to read that you think could happen.  
> While I have plotted the main string of this story there is always place for small side content that can be added, for example like AVF commented on chap 11 "If I'm Kyra, I'll be SEETHING inside and use that spear to drive it through his throat." I liked this so much that I incorporated it into chap 12 with small changes.
> 
> As always I want to thank my beta Doc Hoff for her neverending support and everyone who keeps commenting on this story.  
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

Barnabas and Praxos were already out the door to the backyard when Barnabas suddenly turned around on his heels stepping back in and asked Kyra if she would look after Kassandra as long as he was gone.

Barnabas had caught her looking absentminded and almost started worrying that the evening’s event had taken its toll on the young woman but when Kyra mustered a weak smile and she assured him that, of course she would take care of her, his suspicion subsided and he told himself that she was probably just exhausted. When Kyra turned around to the stairs Barnabas missed the anxious shadow flitting over her features.

She got upstairs but before she went to Kassandra she headed to her bedroom to change into a more comfortable chiton.

Now that the adrenaline of the unnerving evening was wearing off tiredness was clawing at her body and mind.

Kyra felt a sense of relief as she slid out of Nike's peplos, as useful as it had been tonight she didn’t want to see it ever again. Kyra inspected it thoroughly for any bloodstains and was glad there were none to be found, then she folded it neatly and laid it next to the dirty clothes basket, making a mental note to instruct the servant to wash this garment with special care. After that she removed the heavy, golden necklace, earrings and bracelets.

Placing her jewelry neatly on her dressing table next to Nike’s gift of the mother of pearl skin cream, her fingers stroked over the earrings that she had just laid down. They had been a gift from Thaletas and the only thing she had kept as a keepsake.

Kyra pressed her eyelids firmly together when the image of a smiling Thaletas forced its way into her head and she heard her own words reverberate through her mind _‘Thaletas is dead! Kassandra killed him for me’_.

Why had she said that? Kassandra hadn’t killed him for her, Kyra hadn’t wanted him dead. She had wanted to tell Thaletas that she still loved him but that Kassandra was… . Yes, what was Kassandra to her? Or what had she been for Kyra back then? Had she been lying to herself all this time? Would she have been furious with Thaletas if he had killed Kassandra? Would he be furious with her that she had killed his uncle, especially in such a horrible way? But he had been a dishonorable lackey of the Cult.

Kyra jumped as she felt Orion’s cold nose at her calf, looking down at him he gave a short, soft bark.

Orion raised from his bed, wagging his hips happily, upon his mistress’ return but when Kyra ignored him he immediately registered her distress. He walked over to greet her by prodding her leg with his cold, wet nose and only then did Kyra recognize him. She crouched down and hugged him, “I’m fine, big boy.”.

No she wasn’t and he felt it. As she headed for the door, he followed her but Kyra ordered him to stay. Orion whined at that but obediently stayed in his place and watched her leaving.

Kyra opened the door to Kassandra’s room cautiously and entered with diffident steps. It felt so strange being in here alone with Kassandra even though the Eagle Bearer seemed to be fast asleep. She didn’t even understand why it felt different. Why _she_ felt different, Kyra corrected herself.

She walked over to the sleeping woman, watched her for a moment and wondered if Kassandra would be thankful that she took out Linos. Or maybe would even be grateful that Kyra had avenged her. Or would she be mad at her, that she had taken away her chance to avenge herself?

Would Kassandra have just slit Linos’ throat, quick and easy or would she have made sure he would have a long suffering death? Kyra couldn’t imagine Kassandra being so cruel.

Cruel.

It had been cruel what Kyra had done to Linos.

Podarkes the Cruel!

That’s what the Delians and even she had called her begetter. And now, she wasn’t any bit better than him.

Kyra started pacing in front of the bed. What had she done!

She seduced a man, pretending to like him, then poisoned him. And while he was suffering, she had even taunted him. And enjoyed every second of it.

No wonder Savina was shocked upon hearing about her plan. It was a cruel thing to do and Kyra would deserve no better if Savina were to tell her that she couldn’t work for her anymore. She had become the monster she once fought against. She had become just like _him_.

And Praxos! The way he had looked at her before, when Barnabas stopped him from relieving Linos from his misery. Praxos had looked at her with a pleading expression to support him but she had let him down as well because she wanted Linos to suffer. She wanted Praxos to want Linos to suffer too.

Praxos must think that Podarkes’ blood had finally made Kyra as crazy as her father had been. Would he turn away from her now too?

But Nike had understood the necessity of Kyra’s cruelty, even if only because Kassandra meant something to Nike. She wouldn’t leave her, would she?

Kyra hugged herself, as icy fingers of doubt clawed at her body. She felt utterly alone all of a sudden.

Praxos wasn’t here to comfort her and she wasn’t sure if he would even want to do it anymore. Tears gathered on her eyelashes but she blinked them away rapidly.

There was only Kassandra and she was asleep and not even aware of Kyra’s distress. And even if she could wake her up, Kassandra probably wouldn't be able to comfort her at all given the drowsy state she would surely still be in.

Kyra sat down on the bed and studied the face of the woman below her, the strong eyebrows, her cute nose; Kyra smiled fondly at the memory of a disagreeing Eagle Bearer, _‘there is no such a thing as cute on me, impressive is what distinguishes me’._

Kyra had absentmindedly stroked a finger along Kassandra’s cheekbone but withdrew her hand the moment she realized what she was doing.

 _This wasn’t right._ Kyra stood up, took a step backward and felt the icy claws pulling at her body again immediately. Dragging away the last bit of self comfort she had been able to hold onto.

 _‘Does it make you nervous to know she's going to wake up soon?’_ Nike’s question echoed in her mind.

Yes, it did. Even more now, after what she had done tonight.

_Kyra the cruel!_

She wanted to curl up next to Kassandra and weep. And she wanted Kassandra to hold her, feel those strong arms protect her and tell her that everything would be okay.

She knew she shouldn’t act on her desire for comfort, she needed to stay strong without the help of anyone.

_Daughter of Podarkes._

The icy claws squeezed her throat, relentlessly.

Maybe if she just lay down next to her for a little bit, just until she was able to gather enough strength to be able to draw comfort from herself again. Till those icy claws of doubt around her neck would stop injecting their venom.

Kyra approached the bed, but this time from the other, unoccupied side and stood there, pondering whether she should give in and lay down or not.

What if Kassandra were to wake up while she laid next to her? She surely wouldn’t welcome her into her arms after she had been so cold and indifferent to her.

Biting onto her lower lip she watched Kassandra’s face intently, saw her eyes moving rapidly behind closed eyelids, her breathing even. “Kassandra?” and only when she was sure that Kassandra was fast asleep did Kyra dare to crawl over and laid down next to her.

Laying on her side, legs bent, one arm below her head and the other in front of her, Kyra lay still, almost didn’t dare to breath so she could hear Kassandra breathing.

She smelt a light fragrance of sweat, it reminded her of the morning when she awoke in Kassandra’s arms at the beach.

Kassandra’s strong arms, big hands and hungry lips had been so tender when she had made love to her under the stars. It was not long before she realized that Kassandra had a preference for her breasts, spending a good amount of time paying them particular attention. Nevertheless, Kyra’s _honey pot_ , as Kassandra had so affectionately referred to her cunt, didn’t come off badly that night either.

Kyra had never felt so secure and loved as she did that special night. If the gods were to let Kyra choose a time to spend her eternity in, then it would be that time at the beach, with Kassandra.

A frightening thought clawed at Kyra’s mind. The spear surely was a weapon of the gods because why else would she have felt its power and heard their voices when she had picked it up? Would they judge her, now that she dared to use it, killed Linos with it? But Kassandra was constantly killing with it?

Kyra pressed her eyes shut, tried to force those thoughts out of her mind, took a deep breath and concentrated on the scent of the honey-like musky sweat from Kassandra. It made her want to cuddle closer and breathe it in a bit more in hopes of recreating that secure feeling.

Kyra shuffled closer, eyes still closed, leaned her forehead against Kassandra’s biceps and hesitantly placed her hand on Kassandra’s collarbone.

She felt the last of the icy claws on the back of her neck retreat, release her and Kyra was drawn into a pleasant memory.

 

 

They had shared a perfect night of talking, laughing and lovemaking together until they fell asleep in each other’s arms while watching the stars.

Kyra woke up to the feeling of soft kisses on her lips and when she opened her eyes she saw a lopsided smile hovering above her that said, “Kaliméra, astéri mou. How is the most beautiful woman in Greece doing?”

Kyra smiled lazily and stretched her limbs as well as it was possible to while being caught beneath the strong body of the naked Eagle Bearer, and answered, “I don’t know Kassandra. How _are_ you doing?”

The lopsided smirk grew into a bright grin and Kassandra murmured into Kyra’s lips as she kissed her once more, “Mykonos is definitely my favorite island.”

“And you’re my favorite _Eagle Bearer_.” Kyra winked before she put her arms around the Misthios’ neck and pulled her down.

They kissed for a while until the sun spread its first rays over Mykonos. And Kyra had suggested they should get dressed before the first fishing boats passed the beach.

 

Both women were busy with their own thoughts while they got dressed but their thoughts were on the same topic.

“Thaletas should know about us.” Kassandra said, fastening her shawl on her fibulae as she walked over to Kyra. The young rebel who had dressed a lot faster due to not wearing armor waited next to Ikaros, feeding him the remaining olives from the previous evening.

Kassandra had recognized the shadow of guilt flitting across her face and how the corner of Kyra’s mouth turned downward.

“I know.” She murmured and bit the side of her lower lip.

Kassandra stopped in front of her, bent down a little to meet her gaze, saw that Kyra was hesitant and spoke softly but demanding “Kyra-”

“He will.” Kyra barked, voice angry although it hadn’t been her intention and thus she softened it to a neutral voice as she continued, “But for now he needs to focus on the rebellion.”

Kassandra realized that Kyra was trying to avoid the topic, to put off the decision and the conversation she had to have with the young Spartan. She tried again, a bit more insistently but still with a soft voice, “Kyra! Imagine if it had been Thaletas and me who had spent last night together. You would want to know too, wouldn’t you?”

 

Kyra avoided the pleading gaze of Kassandra and looked sideways. Telling her by her darting eyes that Kyra was searching for a solution or, and Kassandra’s heart stopped for a beat, that she wasn’t sure who she should decide for. Had it been right to press Kyra to tell Thaletas, to force her to make a decision?

Why in the name of Aphrodite had she done this? She had had no right to touch the woman of her friend, let alone sleep with her.

But she had fallen head over heels for this fiery, magnificent girl, despite trying so hard not to. With Kyra she experienced a feeling she had never felt before. Love, she had felt before but _this_ , this was something new. It fulfilled her desire for everything she had ever yearned after without being able to comprehend properly what that even was. And by no means did she want to let go of it, just like that.

She closed the gap between them and took Kyra’s hands into her own, this prompted Kyra to look up to her. “Look, we both know it wasn’t the right thing to do, but it happened and now we _can_ do the right thing by telling him about it. I already feel bad that I took you from him, but betraying him is absolutely not what I want. Believe me I tried so hard to suppress my feelings for you and not give in to my desire. I never wanted to press myself between you and Thaletas, I… it’s like I wasn’t in control of myself. Close to you I experience the deepest feeling of love and of belonging that I didn’t even know existed. And I think he will understand when you tell him,” Kassandra explained with a heavy heart and tried to lighten the mood with the last bit, “because if I tell him, he would probably want to kill me and then you have to rescue me from his wrath, just like last time when he caught us holding hands.”

Her efforts seemed to work because Kyra’s face lightened up. “I wouldn’t have had to do that if you hadn’t provoked him with his size comparison to your... _lady-killer,_ I think you called your non-existent cock.”

She opened her mouth and was about to say something else but closed it again and instead bit her lower lip. Kassandra knew by now that this was either a sign of self-consciousness or mischief. “Anything on your mind?” she encouraged Kyra to tell her if there was anything troubling her.

Kyra shook her head and a light blush covered her cheeks, “It’s nothing, it’s silly.”

“No, please Kyra, tell me.” She pleaded and encouraged Kyra with a nod to tell her what was on her mind.

Hesitantly she began but after the first couple of words she spoke with a bit more certainty, “What you just said, what you feel… I.. I don’t know how to put it into words but I never thought I would be the kind of person to be unfaithful, but when I met you, it’s like I wasn’t in control of myself anymore. It’s like there is this feeling that pulls me towards you, and the closer I am to you the better I feel, content, happy, safe.” Kyra stopped, took a deep breath and her face showed how wary she was about whether she should talk further or stop. But Kassandra’s attention was glued on her and so she continued. “And it’s silly because you are a woman but I felt like my body screamed at me to mate with you.”

Kassandra stared at Kyra, eyes wide in surprise and mouth open, then she blinked once and closed her mouth. “That’s exactly what I wanted to say.” she blurted out after she got her bearings back.

Kyra withdraw her hands out of the other woman’s, “you are making fun of me.” and took an insecure step back.

And Kassandra made a step forward, closing the gap between them again. She held her open hands up, apologetically “No! No I’m not, I wanted to say this to you but couldn’t find the words. But what you said is pretty much what I have felt since I met you, like that feeling that pulls me towards you and that I couldn’t control my desire for you even though I knew it was wrong.”

Kassandra hesitated a moment, rubbed the back of her neck, because she felt bashful about what she was about to say. She hadn’t said it often and never used it promiscuously, “I love you, Kyra of Mykonos.”

“I know.” Kyra acknowledged and blushed before she looked down at her feet.

“So, you will tell him today?” Kassandra inquired as hope raised in her voice.

“I will.” Kyra smiled promisingly and stood up on her toes “but first…” she kissed Kassandra who leaned down as soon as she realized what Kyra was about to do so she didn't need to stand on her toes anymore.

They exchanged a languid moment of kissing till Kyra broke it and looked up at Kassandra through half closed eyes. Kassandra recognized a mischievous sparkle in them but before she could prepare herself for anything Kyra had grabbed her by the throat and pushed her gradually backwards until her back impacted into the wall behind them.

Kyra let go of her throat but pushed her with her body against the stonework, and Kassandra found herself neatly trapped between the wall and Kyra’s body.

 

Kyra’s hands were on her face and her lips on her mouth, she was about to claim the misthios once again but this time Kassandra didn’t permit it. With gentle strength she eased her down to the ground.

Hands were pulling at armor and garments and quickly they were naked again, secure behind the broken piece of wall from any prying eyes from the fisher boats.

 

Kassandra’s hands were demanding and so were her lips as they followed the path of her fingers. And they left a trail of blazing desire on Kyra’s skin wherever Kassandra touched her.

This Kassandra was different from the woman she had experienced last night. This one was wild and hungry as she bit into tender flesh, on her way down Kyra’s body she growled in a low voice “I want you to be mine.”

Kyra gasped at the very first tender bite but moaned with the next and every following one and with every bite the heat and throb between her thighs grew more and more intense. A bite into her lower neck, her shoulder, the small piece of flesh between breast and armpit, her already stiff nipple, the underside of her breast, her flank, the small elevation of her lower belly. When Kassandra’s mouth reached her final destination Kyra hooked her fingers into Kassandra’s hair and urged her hips up, closer to the warm breath of Kassandra’s mouth.

“Fuck me!” Kyra pleaded when the expected contact didn’t come. All she could feel were Kassandra’s hands holding her thighs apart and her hot breath tickling her sex and when Kyra looked down her body she caught Kassandra’s gaze between her legs. Kassandra's pupils were so dilated that barely anything of the iris could be seen, it reminded her of the moment at the beach a couple days ago where they had almost kissed if Thaletas hadn’t interrupted.

“Fuck me with your mouth!” This time she wasn’t pleading. Kassandra grinned wolfishly at the angry desperate growl Kyra had uttered, then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath of Kyra’s wet scent before she licked a long stroke the full way from bottom to top over Kyra’s wet slit.

When Kassandra’s tongue parted her lips and slid over the sensitive nub Kyra’s thighs trembled from all the pent-up anticipation of the contact. Her clit was so sensitive and in need of more attention that she pressed Kassandra’s head firmly against her but Kassandra was having none of that.

She shook her head when she felt Kyra pushing her against her cunt, growled a firm “no” and moved up Kyra’s body which caused a dragging pain on her head until Kyra’s hands let go of her hair.

Kyra barked, “don’t you dare leave me aching like th-”

She silenced Kyra’s objection with a firm kiss. Pressing her lips against Kyra’s for a long moment while she pushed herself up on her knees, ignoring the sand and pebbles digging into her skin uncomfortably.

Kyra raised her upper body on her elbows after Kassandra had grabbed her buttocks and pulled her with a strong jerk up on her thighs. She could feel the fresh morning air touching her wet cunt as her lower body rested with spread legs upon Kassandra’s thighs. Her lower legs dangling on each side of Kassandra’s hips, Kyra curled her toes when she felt strong fingers roughly exploring her cunt. It eased a bit of the throbbing need her clit was experiencing.

 

When Kyra finally tore her lips away from Kassandra’s she got a clear view of her hand between Kyra’s legs. She was busy rubbing her clit and teasing her entrance now and again with the tips of her fingers.

Kyra’s pulse was racing at the sight and the need to feel Kassandra inside of her became overwhelming. She rolled her hips and moaned Kassandra’s name and begged her, hitched between sobbing breaths “enter me, please. Please, fuck me.”

“Soon.” Kassandra promised, watching Kyra’s lust-agonized expression intently as she circled her wet, swollen clit with her thumb firmly but ever so slowly. It drove Kyra crazy with wanting to feel filled by Kassandra. She was overwhelmed by the desire to feel Kassandra’s substantial fingers move inside her, fill her until there was no more space left.

And when Kassandra finally entered her, pushing two fingers deep inside Kyra’s whole body jerked up and she shouted, “fuck. STOP!”

A startled Kassandra removed her fingers and apprehensive but also perplexed uttered, “but you just said-”

Kyra reared herself up with one elbow, leaning her upper body sideways and with her other arm searched, fumbling under her back as far as it was possible in that pose and explained, “something is pricking into my back.” After a short search she retrieved a small piece of a thornbush. She held it up to show it to Kassandra before throwing it away with the words “you ruined the moment you little bugger.”

Then Kyra heaved a heavy sigh and laid back, looking up into the sky while her breathing slowed down as she mourned the spoiled moment of ecstasy, the throbbing, wanting fire between her legs that had simmered down to embers.

It was only when she felt Kassandra’s hands stroking softly over her hips, that she realised that her lower body was still resting on Kassandra’s strong thighs, her legs still parted and giving Kassandra a glorious view of her most intimate body part. But Kassandra had her eyes locked on Kyra’s still flushed face and was stroking her body up and down, slowly, tenderly over and again before she took hold of her hips and lowered them gently down onto the ground. Then bent down above her and whispered, “I want you every day, in every possible way.”

Kassandra sat upright and Kyra watched curiously as she moved, kneeling over her right thigh and lifted her other leg up, keeping hold of Kyra’s left thigh, pressing it firmly against herself to keep her steady when Kassandra eased herself down between Kyra’s legs until both their sexes were set flush against each other.

At first Kyra was puzzled, even slightly amused as she watched Kassandra moving over and between her legs and hips but when she realised what Kassandra was doing and felt the moment their sexes touched, her cunt ignited into a wildfire.

This was a whole new level of sexual experience, Kyra had never even thought about trying something like that or that it was even possible. Two cunts sliding against each other, the slippery sound of their wetness and the touch of Kassandra’s clit rubbing against her own was an unmatched experience she couldn’t imagine being topped by anything else.

Kassandra was possessively clinging to Kyra’s raised leg, holding it pressed between her tits that were bouncing slightly as she was riding Kyra with passion. Her head was tilted backwards, mouth open and the tip of her tongue played with her lower lip while she purred like a cat.

It didn’t take more than five thrusts of her hips against Kassandra’s cunt and the slippery feeling of her clit and folds sliding against her own to build up enough ecstasy for Kyra to reach her climax. She ground herself harder against Kassandra’s clit as the fireworks exploded, Kyra grunted and cursed and slipped two fingers between their cunts, rubbing herself and Kassandra, who reached her own climax shortly after Kyra had inserted her fingers between them for more friction.

Kyra rested her fingers between them until they had both come down from their high. When Kassandra let go of Kyra’s leg she laid down next to her, a broad grin followed when she heard Kyra say between still short breaths, “whoever taught you that, Aphrodite bless her and I hope she showed you more like that.”

Kyra propped herself up on her right arm and played with Kassandra’s braid, smiling to herself watching the proud grin forming on Kassandra’s face.

“Why that smug grin, Misthios?”

“Because Aphrodite’s blessing belongs to me.” she said and turned her head towards Kyra. “No one taught me that.”

“Oh, really?!” Kyra purred, “Well then, call me impressed.”

“Yeah. So I don’t know if I can show you more like that but I’m eager to try and find out.” She said and propped herself up, stealing a kiss from Kyra’s lips.

“Then it sounds like I was the first women to enjoy this outstanding sex experience with you?”

Kassandra’s smug smile vanished when she thought about Clio back on Kephallonia and gulped visibly despite trying to hide it behind a guilty smile. “I think it would be wise to say ‘yes’?”

“That would be very wise, Misthios.” Kyra said, running her finger affectionately down her nose and tapping the tip she adoringly confessed, “you have a cute nose.”

Kassandra didn’t seem to like that and exclaimed appalled “there is no such a thing as cute on me.” She sat up and theatrically flexed her muscles as she boasted, “impressive is what distinguishes me.”

 

 

“You _are_ impressive.” Kyra whispered against Kassandra’s arm as she rubbed her nose along it.

 _‘Whatever she means to you, find the answer for yourself when you're ready.’_ Nike’s voice echoed in her head.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.” She kept her voice low and moved her hand that had been resting on Kassandra’s collarbone down onto her biceps.

“I’m sorry I was so cold and dismissive.” She felt tears welling up and sniffled.

“I should have given you a chance to express yourself.” Kyra blinked rapidly but this time the tears were too many and her throat constricted and her voice cracked. “You didn’t deserve any of this. No matter what you did.”

_‘There is no shame in loving a woman that you feel you ought to hold in contempt because of something she did.’_

Tears were streaming down Kyra's face and she sobbed, ”I love you.” wetting Kassandra’s arm and the pillow beneath.

Why couldn’t she wake up now? She wanted Kassandra to hold her tight until the sobbing subsided and she wished Kassandra had heard her words. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to repeat them tomorrow, when Kassandra would finally wake up.

Should she wake her up now?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a noise coming from downstairs. Were Praxos and Barnabas back already? She turned on her back and hastily rubbed her face and eyes dry, then strained her ears. There was nothing to be heard anymore. Had she imagined it?

What if the Spartans were to come and look for their Polemarch? What if the Delians got wind of what she had done?

She should have told them long ago of her blood and should tell them about Nike. Kyra's power was based on lies. Lies, deception and murder, the very things she had vowed to fight. Whoever were to become the new Archon, she had never expected the people to want her. Kyra should never have been allowed to accept the post without first telling the Delians the truth about her associations with Podarkes.

 _Sometimes it’s better to lie than to tell the truth. Especially when that truth will hurt other people or the common well-being is more important._ That’s what Barnabas had told her when she had revealed to him about her blood connection.

Kyra wished Kassandra had never told her the truth about Thaletas. If she had just buried his body and had told her that he had already left, was on his way back to Sparta to receive his promotion.

She wouldn’t have hated her and Kassandra would have never left Mykonos, would have stayed with Kyra and lived a happy life with her. Deep down she knew it wasn't the right thing to think but she was frightened and desperate. And it made her cling to the smallest bit of happiness, hope and wishful thinking.

Exhaustion spread through Kyra’s body and made her eyelids heavy. She had to get up before she fell asleep she thought, she was supposed to watch over Kassandra but it felt so good and comfy next to her. Maybe she could just allow herself a little bit longer before she pulled herself up and…

Kyra fell into a sound sleep.

 

“Now that Linos is gone I’ll go and bring the Adrestia into Mykonos port in the morning. Someone should be there when Kassandra wakes up while I’m aw-.” Entering the room Barnabas stopped midsentence at the sight that greeted him.

Kyra was cuddled up next to Kassandra and had an arm about her torso. Kassandra’s head was leaning to the side and her chin touched Kyra’s forehead. Both were fast asleep.

“Gosh, look at them. How adorable, they make such a lovely pair.” Barnabas swooned affectionately in a low voice.

Praxos pushed past Barnabas and shoved him aside with his broad shoulders as he mumbled something disapprovingly under his breath.

He kept his voice low as he grumbled, “she’s not good for her.” and gently lifted Kyra into his huge arms, held her tenderly against his chest.

Barnabas countered, “what makes you think Kyra is not good for Kassandra?” and made a sidestep to give Praxos enough space to navigate to the door with the sleeping Kyra in his arms.

“You are not funny, old man.” he said while passing him.

“And you have no right calling my girl unworthy. She’s a good person.”

“Good person or not she turned my girl’s world upside down and left her with a broken heart.”

“Kassandra’s heart is broken too.”

“Look, I don’t care. What I do care about is here in my arms and I would do everyth-” he shook his head, “why am I even discussing this with you. She’s not good for her! End of story! I’ll bring her to bed now, why don’t you take her vacant place. Cuddle up with your big strong girl.”

A scandalized gasp escaped Barnabas mouth “how can you even suggest-”

“Not like _that._ Like look after her while you take a nap, we all need a good portion of sleep after tonight's events.” Was the last thing he said and went out of the room.

“Don’t listen to him, my girl. You’ll have all the time to talk to Kyra when you are awake tomorrow.”

 

 


End file.
